Kenyan political activist Jomo Kenyatta released from jail

Date: 21 Aug 1961
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Kenyan political activist and President of Kenya Afican National Union, Jomo Kenyatta was released from jail after serving 9 years. During the 1952 Mau Mau rebellion, Kenyatta, together with other nationalist leaders was imprisoned by the British authorities. The rebellion took the British by surprise and rendered the country ungovernable for almost eight years. It was this rebellion that paved the way for the independence of Kenya out of the bondages of Britain. Kenyatta subsequently became president in 1964 a year after the country became independent from Britain.

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01 Body-Avans,A.,(1951-1954),Timeline:Mau Mau Rebellion,[online],Avaliable at africanhistory.about.com [Accessed: 21 August 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Kenyan political activist Jomo Kenyatta released from jail. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011933

South African History Online (2011) 'Kenyan political activist Jomo Kenyatta released from jail', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011933 (Accessed: 28 July 2026).

South African History Online, Kenyan political activist Jomo Kenyatta released from jail [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011933, (accessed 28 July 2026).

"Kenyan political activist Jomo Kenyatta released from jail." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011933. Accessed 28 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Kenyan political activist Jomo Kenyatta released from jail." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011933.