The untold story of the man who gave us the national anthem

Graham Hyslop [Photo: Courtesy]

Graham Hyslop was the organist and choir master at the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi and was selected to join the composers of the national anthem solely on the strength of his adeptness at infusing traditional Kenyan music with Christian choral music.

When Tom Mboya, Kenya’s minister for Constitutional Affairs was tasked by President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta to form a team to compose an anthem, he did not hesitate to include Hyslop, who was not only Kenya’s Inspector of Music and Drama for the Ministry of Education, but also his personal friend.