The paparazzo who snapped baby Uhuru Kenyatta in maternity ward

Uhuru Kenyatta birthday at State House, his mother Mama Ngina Kenyatta helps him light the candle on the cake. [File, Standard]

It takes guts to cross a president’s path. But the quest for a juicier story compels journalists to do the unthinkable without weighing the consequences of clinching the once in a lifetime scoop.

When Aga Khan Hospital registered the birth of a baby boy on October 26, 1961, at 11:10am, there was a frenzy in the city. And as Jomo Kenyatta celebrated his newest son, some journalists were busy plotting how to capture this moment of history.

Renowned photographer and documentary maker Mohinder Dhillon knew that if he ventured into the hospital, the security would chase him away.

He was well aware of how protective and sensitive Kenyatta was about his personal life and that of his family getting to the press. In August 1960, soon after Jomo had been released from prison, he had granted Dhillon’s company, Africapix, an interview.

Dhillon and his partner Ivor Davis had to, however, submit their questions in advance. Those about wives and children were knocked off.

“Once all his (Ivor's) “approved” questions had been answered, he tried slipping in one of the “forbidden” questions as well. Kenyatta glared at Ivor. “Mzungu, hapana ingia mlango wa nyuma,” Ivor did not understand Swahili; so I whispered the translation to his ear," said Dhillon.

With these memories still fresh in mind, Dhillon dispatched a cameraman to try and photograph the new baby, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, moments after his birth.

He chronicles in his memoirs, My Camera, My life: Sir Mohinder Dhillon, how he beat Kenyatta’s security to secure world class exclusive pictures of Uhuru’s birth 

“I had asked Shawn Hudson, a young white photographer, to go to the hospital to try his luck. Being an unfamiliar face, Shawn was able to walk right into the reception area of the maternity wing, where the assumption among the nurses was that he must be a family friend. So they had held up the baby Uhuru, and had allowed Shawn to click away.”

The cameraman was lucky that Jomo did not unleash his anger as he had to a motorcycle outrider who had accidentally grazed his official limousine.

"Jomo got out of the car in a seething rage, seizing the terrified rider by the collar and shaking him violently. “Get rid of this fool,” he thundered to Alex Pearson, his then British bodyguard. 

In another instance, Dhillon was scolded by Jomo for his dirty microphone at State House, Nakuru.

“Whose disgusting microphone is this? Get rid of it!” and even after wiping it with a clean handkerchief as Jomo watched, the old man followed up with “You heard me. I said, get rid of it!”