Kenya Free! This was the headline of the Daily Nation of Thursday December 12, 1963 when the country became a Republic.
Kenya had joined the community of nations after the union Jack was lowered exactly at one second past midnight and thereafter darkness engulfed the land and a minute later the light was back as the Kenyan Flag was raised for the very first time. Over 1,200 dancers from across the country entertained the crowd.
4000 guest attended the garden party at State House hosted by the Prime Minster Mzee Jomo Kenyatta with British Colonial Secretary Duncan Sundays in attendance.
Five babies were reported to have been born at the Independence Stadium where celebrations were taking place in Nairobi. Their mothers had travelled to Nairobi despite their precarious situations just to come and witness the birth of a new nation. They were born at a makeshift maternity hospital erected by the Red Cross.
The editorial in the Daily Nation had proposed a formation of a Pan Africa State including Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, Zanzibar and Somalia.
Editorial, Daily Nation,1963
Obviously, the primary aim must be the early creation of the east African Federation
The day after independence, a massive rally of 10,000 youth was held at the independence arena with live cultural performances and exhibits held in different halls across the new born nation.
At the same time Ghana President Kwameh Nkuruma had fired his Chief Justice Sir Arku Korsa after the courts acquitted a suspect and sentenced two others to death for attempting to bomb the President.
Zanzibar had applied for admission into the UN Security Council. The UN Security Council was expected to recommend membership for both Zanzibar and Kenya.
