Uhuru Gardens

Last updated

Uhuru Gardens
Uhuru Gardens, Nairobi.jpg
Monument and flag-raising structure in the gardens
Nairobi location map.png
Red pog.svg
Location within Nairobi County
TypeMemorial
Location Nairobi, Kenya
Coordinates 1°19′14″S36°47′46″E / 1.3205009°S 36.7961151°E / -1.3205009; 36.7961151
Area63 acres [1]
OpenedSeptember 1965 [1]
Etymology"Freedom" (Swahili)
Owned by Kenya Defense Forces [1]

Uhuru Gardens National Monument and Museum is a commemorative park and museum in Nairobi, Kenya that celebrates independence from the British Empire on 12 December 1963. [2] [3] The word "uhuru" is Swahili for "freedom". [3] It contains three points of significance:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Kenya</span>

The politics of Kenya take place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the president is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system in accordance with a new constitution passed in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nairobi</span> Capital and largest city of Kenya

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi, which translates to 'place of cool waters', a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper had a population of 4,397,073 in the 2019 census. The city is commonly referred to as The Green City in the Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenya African National Union</span> Political party in Kenya

The Kenya African National Union (KANU) is a Kenyan political party that ruled for nearly 40 years after Kenya's independence from British colonial rule in 1963 until its electoral loss in 2002. It was known as Kenya African Union (KAU) from 1944 but due to pressure from the colonial government, KAU changed its name to Kenya African Study Union (KASU) mainly because all political parties were banned in 1939 following the start of the Second World War. In 1946 KASU rebranded itself into KAU following the resignation of Harry Thuku as president due to internal differences between the moderates who wanted peaceful negotiations and the militants who wanted to use force, the latter forming the Aanake a forty, which later became the Mau Mau. His post was then occupied by James Gichuru, who stepped down for Jomo Kenyatta in 1947 as president of KAU. The KAU was banned by the colonial government from 1952 to 1960. It was re-established by James Gichuru in 1960 and renamed KANU on 14 May 1960 after a merger with Tom Mboya's Kenya Independence Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Mall</span> Landscaped park in Washington, D.C.

The National Mall is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, art galleries, cultural institutions, and various memorials, sculptures, and statues. It is administered by the National Park Service (NPS) of the United States Department of the Interior as part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit of the National Park System. The park receives approximately 24 million visitors each year. Designed by Pierre L'Enfant, the "Grand Avenue" or Mall was to be a democratic and egalitarian space—the complete opposite of the gardens of Versailles where only royalty and nobility accessed similar spaces in size and scope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kikuyu people</span> Ethnic group in Kenya

The Kikuyu are a Bantu ethnic group native to East Africa Central Kenya. At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019, they account for 17.13% of the total population of Kenya, making them Kenya's largest ethnic group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Kenya</span> Head of state and government of Kenya

The president of the Republic of Kenya is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Kenya. The president is also the head of the executive branch of the Government of Kenya and is the commander-in-chief of the Kenya Defence Forces. The country's current president is William Ruto since 13 September 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Kenya</span> National flag

The flag of Kenya is a tricolour of black, red, and green with two white edges imposed with a red, white and black Maasai shield and two crossed spears. The flag is based on that of Kenya African National Union and was officially adopted on 12 December 1963 after Kenya's independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uhuru Kenyatta</span> President of Kenya from 2013 to 2022

Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. The son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, he previously served as Deputy Prime Minister from 2008 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eternal flame</span> Continuously burning fire or lamp

An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can be initially ignited by lightning, piezoelectricity or human activity, some of which have burned for hundreds or thousands of years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalonzo Musyoka</span> 10th Vice President of Kenya

Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka is a Kenyan politician who was the tenth Vice-President of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. Musyoka served in the government under the late President Daniel arap Moi as the Secretary of Kenya African National Union party (1980-1988), Assistant Minister for Works (1986-1988), Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly (1988-1992), Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1993 until 1998, Minister of Education (1998-2001); and subsequently, under the late President Mwai Kibaki, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs again from 2003 to 2004, then Minister of the Environment from 2004 to 2005. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2007 presidential election, after which he was appointed vice-president by Kibaki in January 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Capitol Museum</span> Museum in Sacramento, California, United States

The California State Capitol Museum consists of a museum in and grounds around the California State Capitol in Sacramento, California, United States. The building has been the home of the California State Legislature since 1869. The State Capitol Museum has been a property in the California State Parks system since 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wangarĩ Maathai</span> Kenyan environmental and political activist (1940–2011)

Wangarĩ Muta Maathai was a Kenyan social, environmental, and political activist who founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights. In 2004 she became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uhuru Park</span>

Uhuru Park is a 12.9 hectare recreational park adjacent to the central business district of Nairobi, Kenya. It was opened to the general public by the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta on 23 May 1969. It contains an artificial lake, several national monuments, and an assembly ground which has become a popular skateboarding spot on weekends and also a location for local skateboarding competitions, catering to Nairobi's growing skate scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rizal Park</span> Historic urban park in Manila, Philippines

Rizal Park, also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an area of 58 hectares. The site on where the park is situated was originally known as Bagumbayan during the Spanish colonial period. It is adjacent to the historic Walled City of Intramuros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamhuri Day</span> National holiday in Kenya

Jamhuri Day is a national holiday in Kenya, celebrated on 12 December each year. Jamhuri is the Swahili word for "republic" and the holiday officially marks the date when Kenya became an independent country on 12 December 1963, six months and eleven days after gaining internal self-rule on 1 June 1963 from the United Kingdom. Kenya later became a republic, with the inauguration of Jomo Kenyatta as president taking place on 12 December 1964, exactly one year after Kenya attained independence in 1963. Kenyatta, having previously been sworn in as prime minister, continued as prime minister of newly independent Kenya, before assuming the position of president one year after Independence Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Monument to the U.S. Constitution</span>

The National Monument to the U.S. Constitution is a monument commissioned of Australian artist Brett-Livingstone Strong by Warren E. Burger, Chairman of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. One of a pair created by Strong to commemorate historic anniversaries, along with The United States Presidency Monument, it was dedicated by President Ronald Reagan at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on September 17, 1987. Both monuments are the property of the EventMakers-USA, Inc., a Virginia-based company with principal offices in Henrico, Virginia. Over the years the monument has been transported for display purposes to several major public events around the country. In 1991 it was scheduled to begin a twenty-city traveling exposition as part of the Spirit of Freedom Tour. Due to the withdrawal of sponsorship funding, the tour never commenced. The Monument's companion original replicas of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights are being produced for placement in America's schools through the National Constitution Plaque Initiative. All user rights to the Constitution Monument and the Original Replicas of the Constitution were transferred to The American Constitution Spirit Foundation, a Virginia non-profit, in March 2010. The Foundation plans to place the monument at the new Spirit of Freedom Center in Henrico County Virginia in the summer of 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenya–United Kingdom relations</span> Bilateral relations

Kenya–United Kingdom relations are bilateral relations between Kenya and the United Kingdom. The interactions between the two states have been positive and friendly since Kenya's independence in 1963. Both the UK and Kenya are members of the Commonwealth of Nations and engage with each other regularly on matters of military, economic and cultural importance. Kenya retains many aspects of British culture and governance, such as continuing to use English within administration, education and the law, driving on the left, hosting a diaspora community of Britons, and having a large Protestant population. The British military continues to play an important role in the country with Kenya hosting the UK's largest base in Africa, which provides vital anti-terrorism training to the Kenyan police. The British royal family, in particular Elizabeth II had very close personal ties to the country. Elizabeth II was in Kenya when she received news that her father King George VI had died, and had made multiple state visits throughout her reign. To mark the 2022 Platinum Jubilee, Prince Edward visited the country to reinforce ties and celebrate Kenya's historic and current relationship with the UK. British tourism and finance are significant contributors to the Kenyan economy, with 100,000 British people visiting the country ever year for its national parks and wildlife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mombasa tusks</span> Aluminum monument in Mombasa, Kenya

The Mombasa Tusks, also referred to as Mapembe ya Ndovu or Mapembeni or Pembe za Ndovu, form a monument over Moi Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Mombasa, Kenya. Built in the 1950s to commemorate visits by the British royal family, the monument originally comprised two wooden structures resembling tusks; nowadays, there are four aluminium tusks in an M shape. The monument is under the jurisdiction of the National Museums of Kenya in addition to the city's municipal government.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wambui, Mary (18 June 2022). "Uhuru Gardens: Kenya's permanent freedom museum". The East African. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  2. HC Deb 22 November 1963 vol 684 cc1329-400 wherein the UK Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations and for the Colonies stated" "An agreement was then signed on 8 October 1963, providing that on the date when Kenya became independent the territories comprising the Kenya Coastal Strip would become part of Kenya proper."
  3. 1 2 3 "Uhuru Gardens – National Museums of Kenya". National Museums of Kenya. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  4. Mũkũyũ (13 November 2008). "Gikuyu Origins". Gikuyu Architecture. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Uhuru Gardens | Enzi". enzimuseum.org. Retrieved 10 September 2017.