Kenya's first President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta had a huge fallout with the first US Ambassador to Kenya, William Attwood, over a book that was published by the latter.
Atwood had purchased 50 acres in Karen, Nairobi where he intended to lead a quiet life after retiring.
He enjoyed a good relationship with President Kenyatta so much so that he often teased him to take up Kenyan citizenship.
“I am told you’re coming back to live here. Take up Kenyan citizenship and we might appoint you our ambassador to the US," Kenyatta told Attwood.
However, things changed in a matter of minutes, turning friends into foes.
Nation reports that Attwood published an explosive book titled The Red and the Blacks: A Personal Adventure upon returning to his country.
In the book, the former US envoy exposed an alleged plot by Vice-President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga to overthrow Kenyatta’s government.
But that's not all. Attwood also revealed that Odinga had people in key places to seize power in the event that Kenyatta was assassinated.
He went on to disclose how the then Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Murumbi informed him that Odinga had sent hundreds of young men where they were receiving military training in readiness for the coup.
As expected, President Kenyatta was not happy when he learnt of the revelations in Attwood's book.
He not only banned the book in the country but also warned the former US envoy against setting foot in Kenya.
