• For a man whose administration turned Thika Road into a dual carriage, the Superhighway that was opened by Kenya's 3rd President Mwai Kibaki in 2012 would probably be a marvel.
• Mzee would find a country where the internet has become a basic need and WiFi passwords are as important as greetings when Kenyans go visiting each other.
Image: FILE
On August 22, 1978, Kenyans were thrown into mourning with the news of the death of founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
Kenyatta died in Mombasa at the age of 82 having been President for 14 years with today marking 41 years since his death.
If Jomo was to wake up today from his mausoleum that sits next to the Parliament Buildings, he would most probably be shocked and delighted at the state of the country.
Mzee would probably be shocked that Kenyans removed his image from the face of the country's notes and coins.
A more shocking revelation for Jomo would be that Kenyans do not carry so much cash around with MPesa being the prefered mode of trading using mobile phones.
Mzee would find a country where the internet has become a basic need and WiFi passwords are as important as greetings when Kenyans go visiting each other.
The skyscrapers around Nairobi would probably amaze Mzee as the two tallest buildings at the time of his death were KICC (32 floors) and Social Security House (28 floors).
He would probably be surprised that we are building more skyscrapers yet some of those that already exist are yet to get full tenancy.
For a man whose administration turned Thika Road into a dual carriage, the Superhighway that was opened by Kenya's 3rd President Mwai Kibaki in 2012 would probably be a marvel.
The Thika Superhighway would be a great delight for Jomo who instead of residing at State House would be driven to Nairobi from their Gatundu home.
Mzee would also find that going to Mombasa by training is now faster with the construction of the SGR.
Jomo was the President who issued the first decree accepting matatus as a mode of public transport.
Other than the evolution of the matatus from simple vehicles to moving discos, Jomo would probably be shocked by the chaos created by them in Nairobi's CBD.
For a man who relied on one TV station and radio, Jomo would probably be shocked that there are hundreds of TV and radio stations in Kenya today.
Mzee would probably be delighted that his son Uhuru Kenyatta is the current sitting president though the jury is out on whether he is doing a better job than him.
He would probably be amazed at how his son gets criticised on Twitter and Facebook to the extent that he decided to quit the platforms earlier this year.
Mzee would also find that Uhuru no longer rides in the 600 Grosser Mercedes Benz that was a symbol of his presidency.
Jomo would also be delighted that Uhuru and Raila Odinga are in good terms despite their previous political rivalry.
Despite starting off as friends, Jomo and Raila's father Jaramogi ended up being fierce political rivals.
Jaramogi moved from being Mzee's first vice-president at independence to becoming the leader of the opposition after quitting the government in 1966.
On this, mzee would probably be amazed that Uhuru and his Deputy President can openly differ in their public utterances and still serve in the same government.
While his administration did away with the Senate, Jomo would find a country that has Senators who are always in supremacy wars with their colleagues in the National Assembly.
Though he would find an economy that has grown more than nine times since independence, Mzee would probably be shocked that one US dollar is more than Sh100 today.
By the time of his death, the US dollar was exchanging for Sh7.42 while today's exchange rate is Sh103.01.
It would also be interesting to see his reaction to the fact that during his time, the annual GDP growth average at 7 per cent while the current average is 5 per cent.
In 1978, the total GDP of Kenya was US$5.3 Billion (Sh370 billion) with a population of 15.08 million.
In 2019, Kenya's estimated GDP is $98.2 billion (Sh10 trillion) with an estimated population of 50 million.
Mzee would probably be shocked that Kenya has a debt of Sh5.4 trillion while he left it at less than Sh150 billion.