Trick Kenyatta’s drivers used to exceed speed limit

Kenya’s first President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta was so keen on a number of things and one of them was the speed limit of his car.

His limit was 40km/h and anything above this would guarantee his drivers a tongue-lashing.

Well, driving at such a speed when going to far-flung areas means arriving extremely late so his drivers devised a way of beating it.

According to his Escort Commander, they would wait for Kenyatta to take a nap then hit top speed and later slow down as soon as Mzee stopped snoring.

Kenyatta quit flying immediately after independence and often travelled by road.

He was also afraid of heights and it is on record that when he was opening the Coast Provincial Headquarters in the 70’s, Mzee declined to take a lift to third floor to sign the visitors’ book.

Once the lift-car opened, he beckoned Mama Ngina: “You go sign the book on my behalf and find us here.”

The book had to be brought to the ground floor for him to sign.