Dear People of Kenya,

We write to you not as one above you, nor as one separate from you, but as one among you, yet from a different time. A time where your past has become our lesson, your silence our question, and your strength our inheritance.

Dear Jomo Kenyatta,

I believe that we are not acquainted yet. This is because we are from the future, modern day Kenya. You would not believe how much has changed. TVs are now in colour, and we have a new Constitution, promulgated in 2010. It vests all power in the people and is praised to have autochthonous aspirations and an admirably progressive Bill of Rights.

On 3 March 2026, the Avid Readers Forum convened for a reading and discussion session on Chapter 4 of The Legacies of Julius Nyerere and a substack article by Iain Parker. The session was moderated by Jimmy Wambua and Sarah Muhonja and attended by members of the forum drawn from Kabarak Law School, including Prof. Oluyemisi Bamgbose and Mr Cedric Kadima. With Parker’s article providing context, Pratt’s chapter explored key dimensions of Julius Nyerere’s intellectual, political and social legacy, with particular attention to his philosophy of leadership, education, and nation-building. Prior to the reading, the moderators provided brief contextual remarks on Nyerere’s role as Tanzania’s founding president and his enduring influence on African political thought and his emphasis on ethical leadership and collective responsibility.