12 December 1963: Kenya's Independence Day

On 12 December 1963, Mohamed Amin documented the official ceremony ending British colonial rule in Kenya. Prince Philip and President Jomo Kenyatta, the first Kenyan president, were both in attendance. 

That was the moment for which all Kenyans had been waiting. The struggle for independence had been long and bitter. 

Leading the Mau Mau freedom fighters, Kenyatta had forced the British authorities to realise their imperial sway was inexorably drawing to a close. Britain tried to stave off the inevitable by incarcerating Kenyatta and other Mau Mau leaders, but the Kenyan people’s hunger for freedom was too great to resist.

With Kenyatta deemed a free man and the undisputed leader of his fledgling nation, the moment when power passed from the old to the new finally arrived. It was a glittering and emotional evening ceremony, studded with all the pomp associated with such a dignified occasion.

There was also a lighter side to the celebration. At the crucial moment, floodlights would focus on the Kenyan flag, unfurling at the top of its staff. But the halyard became twisted, and there was a brief, embarrassing delay. Prince Philip mischievously seized the occasion, leaned over to Kenyatta and told him: “You’ve still got time to change your mind if you wish.”

Seconds later, the flag unfurled, and Kenya was finally an independent nation. Mo stood in front of the ceremonial stage, filming every minute alongside others from the world’s press. His pictures of Kenyatta assuming control of the country at midnight on 11th December were used around the globe.