Jomo Kenyatta Posthumously Honoured with Prestigious Pan-African Award in Angola

The Republic of Angola has posthumously awarded the Honour of Class a prestigious medal in recognition of his life-long contribution to African Unity and Pan-Africanism to the founding father of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.

It was awarded by the Angolan President, Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco at celebrations honouring the 50th Anniversary of the national independence of the country held in Luanda on Thursday, November 6, 2025.

The symbolic act put Kenyatta in a special category of African freedom heroes who made their mark in the movement of liberation and unity of the continent.

Retired Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in a statement made on Saturday, November 8, thanked President Lourenco, the Government and the people of Angola as the contribution of his late father to the liberation struggle in Africa.

The Office of the Fourth President of the Republic of Kenya, H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, is pleased to give its deepest thanks to His Excellency President Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco, Government of the Republic of Angola, and to the people of the Republic of Angola, in recognition of the posthumous honour of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, the Founding Father of the Republic of Kenya.

It was presented to Muhoho Kenyatta (the son of Mzee Kenyatta and the younger brother of retired President Uhuru Kenyatta) on behalf of the Kenyatta family.

The Ambassador of Kenya to Angola, Joyce Khasimwa M'maitsi, facilitated the presentation.

Uhuru remarked that the award was not about individual appreciation of the leadership of Jomo Kenyatta, but a historical relationship that was to be traced back in history between Kenya and Angola. He stressed that the handshake renewed the African unity of solidarity, sacrifice and the struggle to gain independence and self-determination which cemented the two countries.

Uhuru said this recognition is not an honour to a person. It is the reassertion of the historical relations and collective oppression of liberation by the people of Kenya and the people of Angola. It tells us of the undying spirit of Pan-Africanism that gave the founding fathers of our nations their inspiration.

Speaking on behalf of the family, Muhoho Kenyatta praised Angola and the award was a reminder of the value that Mzee Kenyatta espoused in his lifetime.

This highly regarded prize would be an effective reminder of the Pan-African ideals that Mzee Jomo Kenyatta supported, a vision of a united, free, and self-determined Africa, Muhoho said. His support to the liberation movement of Angola was based on the indomitable feeling that the fate of all African states is united.

Other notable African leaders who were given honour in the same ceremony during Angola include those of Zambia, Zimbabwe, Algeria, South Africa and Ghana, who were instrumental in aiding Angola to gain independence against the Portuguese colonial rule.

The award highlighted how Angola valued the cooperation that was experienced across the continent in ensuring that it became a fully sovereign state on November 11, 1975.

During his rule, Kenyatta had always preached to African countries to break the shackles of colonialism and imperial rule.

He was a close partner of various African liberation leaders, such as Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah, Nigeria's Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tanzania's Julius Nyerere, and Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser. They all shared the vision of having an African continent that was united in purpose and able to map its own future without foreign intrusion.

The Pan-African vision of Kenya had not been limited to political independence on the part of Kenyatta. He greatly held the view on the economic empowerment of African countries and how the people needed to build cultural pride and continental unity.

His financial assistance to liberation movements in Angola, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe took the shape of the overall desire Kenya had to liberate Africa in the 1960s and 1970s.

The fact that Angola voted to make Jomo Kenyatta one of the heroes of the golden jubilee celebrations only supports his role in history as a giant in the African struggle to freedom and unity.

The award is not only commemorating his personal legacy but also sending a strong message of how Pan-Africanism remains relevant to this day - a vision that still shapes the way Africa has been striving to promote peace, development, and collective prosperity.

There are very few honours that will ever be more of a testament to a lifetime spent by Jomo Kenyatta, devoted to the principles of independence, unity, and self-reliance, which he made and made continue to resonate with generations of people across the continent.