Do you know who sculpted Jomo Kenyatta monument in parliament?

Eldoret City recently removed poorly made statues ahead of its appraisal for city status, highlighting Kenya’s lack of skilled sculptors.
The famous Jomo Kenyatta statue at parliament, created by British sculptor James Butler in 1973, marked the start of his illustrious career.
Butler’s work includes notable pieces in Britain, Africa, and Asia.

Recently we saw Eldoret City remove some of the statues it had erected ahead of their appraisal to city status due to their shoddy nature. The state of the statues showed that the country lacked skilled sculptors. A deep dive into the famous statues in the country shows that the best statue which is the Jomo Kenyatta statue at parliament was not even sculpted by a Kenyan. The statue was sculpted by a British sculptor named James Butler in 1973. Butler was an art teacher in Britain. After Jomo Kenyatta through the Kenyan government commissioned the statue, James Butler left his teaching career and became a full-time sculptor which many commissions in Britain, Africa, and Asia. It was the beginning of a meteoric career as a figurative sculptor.

President Jomo Kenyatta was the very first major commission that James received. The Kenyan government contacted the Royal Academy of Arts and James was recommended. James had the honour of spending some three weeks with the President and his entourage enabling him to talk to to the President, take photographs and make many drawings.

In 1973 before throngs of African leaders from the continent, the 12 foot seated figure was unveiled to mark 10 years of independence.

“I went over to Kenya to meet Kenyatta before the work began. I thought he was going to tell me what to do but he just asked me to tell him what I wanted. His ministers told me they wanted the statue seated, the President to be depicted as the Father of the Nation. He just sat there, very upright. As soon as I saw him in that position, I thought the pose is natural to him, it’s simple and dignified, and that is how I am going to make the statue. I took many photographs and measurements of him and made some quick drawings of his cloak. He sat very still for me for about three hours,” says Butler.

Jomo Kenyatta’s 1973 statue is placed in City Square with about one acre of land setting him apart from the surrounding buildings. Anyone walking into City Square, walks into this statue because it is the focal point.

Other famous works by James Butler include the current version of the British Great Seal used by the British royalty, the magnificent 12 foot Freedom Fighter statue in Lusaka amongst others.