Jomo Kenyatta call "ancestor communion". In that book's dedication, Kenyatta invoked "ancestral spirits" as part of "the Fight for African Freedom." Within Kenya, Kenyatta came to be regarded as the "Father of the Nation", and was given the unofficial title of "Mzee", a Swahili term meaning "grand old man". From 1963 until his death, a cult of personality surrounded him in the country, one which deliberately interlinked Kenyan nationalism with Kenyatta's own personality. This use of Kenyatta as a popular symbol of the nation itself was furthered by the similarities between their names. He came to be regarded as a father figure
Jomo Kenyatta the court, Kenyatta stated that he and the others did not recognise the judge's findings; they claimed that the government had used them as scapegoats as a pretext to shut down KAU. The historian Wunyabari O. Maloba later characterised it as "a rigged political trial with a predetermined outcome". The government followed the verdict with a wider crackdown, banning KAU in June 1953, and closing down most of the independent schools in the country, including Kenyatta's. It appropriated his land at Gatundu and demolished his house. In remand status, Kenyatta and the others were returned to Lokitaung, where they resided