Jomo Kenyatta British East African Dominion. In April 1950, Kenyatta was present at a joint meeting of KAU and the East African Indian National Congress in which they both expressed opposition to the Kenya Plan. By 1952, Kenyatta was widely recognised as a national leader, both by his supporters and his opponents. As KAU leader, he was at pains to oppose all illegal activity, including workers' strikes. He called on his supporters to work hard, and to abandon laziness, theft, and crime. He also insisted that in an independent Kenya, all racial groups would be safeguarded. Kenyatta's gradualist and peaceful approach contrasted
Jomo Kenyatta by members of smaller ethnic groups like the Kalenjin and Masai. In May 1960, KANU nominated Kenyatta as its President, although the government vetoed it, insisting that he had been an instigator of the Mau Mau. KANU then declared that it would refuse to take part in any government unless Kenyatta was freed. KANU campaigned on the issue of Kenyatta's detainment in the February 1961 election, where it gained a majority of votes. KANU nevertheless refused to form a government, which was instead created through a KADU-led coalition of smaller parties. Kenyatta had kept abreast of these developments, although refused