Jomo Kenyatta not only by Kikuyu and Kenyans, but by Africans more widely. After 1963, Maloba noted, Kenyatta became "about the most admired post-independence African leader" on the world stage, one who Western countries hailed as a "beloved elder statesman." His opinions were "most valued" by both conservative African politicians and Western leaders. On becoming Kenya's leader, his anti-communist positions gained favour in the West, and various pro-Western governments gave him awards; in 1965 he for instance received medals from both Pope Paul VI and the South Korean government. In 1974, Arnold referred to Kenyatta as "one of the outstanding African leaders
Jomo Kenyatta insisted that it was necessary; in a March 1961 speech, he described Kenyatta an "African leader to darkness and death" and stated that if he were released, violence would erupt. This indefinite detention was widely interpreted internationally as a reflection of the cruelties of British imperialism. Calls for his release came from the Chinese government, India's Nehru, and Tanganyika's Prime Minister Julius Nyerere. Ghana's President Nkrumah personally raised the issue with British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and other UK officials, with the Ghanaian government offering Kenyatta asylum in the event of his release. Resolutions calling for his release were produced