The power of Jomo Kenyatta

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 26 September 2022

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the 1970s, Sharad Rao was Kenya’s assistant director of public prosecutions, working closely with Kenyan leader Jomo Kenyatta who was seen as ruthless and unpredictable. Rao took the unusual step of defying Kenyatta’s orders by refusing to jail students after they rioted about chapatis in 1972. Rao also tells Alex Collins how he witnessed Kenyatta chasing a British diplomat with a stick. (Photo: Jomo Kenyatta. Credit: BBC)

Transcript

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0:00.0	What's up y'all, I'm Renee Montgomery and my podcast Untold Legends Aura is available
0:05.4	now.
0:06.4	I'm looking back on the life of one of the most extraordinary black female sport stars
0:11.6	of the 20th century, whose name has been all but forgotten.
0:16.0	Aura Washington.
0:18.1	Stay listening at the end of this podcast to find out more.
0:28.8	Thank you for downloading the witness history podcast from the BBC World Service, with
0:33.2	me, Alex Collins.
0:34.9	In 1963, Jomo Kenyatta became leader of the newly independent Kenya.
0:39.9	He was charismatic, unpredictable and ruthless.
0:43.4	For nearly a decade, Sherrod Rowe worked closely with him as his assistant director of public
0:48.3	prosecutions.
0:49.3	Rowe had a ring-side seat witnessing the controversial leader exercising his power.
0:57.5	Harold Rowe knew if he worked with Jomo Kenyatta, you did exactly what you were told.
1:02.9	In 1972, 68 students at the University of Nairobi had been arrested and detained for
1:09.1	rioting because their canteen had stopped serving chapatis.
1:13.4	One of the students' favorite foods.
1:15.7	Rowe says the students would find any excuse to riot and like to provoke Kenyatta.
1:21.3	The president didn't like the students either.
1:24.0	He wanted the writers jailed so he could look like a strongman.
1:28.5	Rowe knew that the case against the students wouldn't stand up in court because of a lack
1:32.3	of evidence.
	...

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