1963 is a memorable year in Kenya’s history for a myriad of reasons. One is that our identity as a nation began to be sealed through the implementation of various things. A national anthem was composed by a Kenyan musical team, a Kenyan flag was created, as well as a court of arms. Many other systems needed to be put in place in preparation for a new Kenya, a free Kenya. Among these things was a postal stamp that would speak about the identity of Kenya. When Kenya attained self-rule on 12th December 1963, one of the new stamps on the market was one that boasted our nation as a go-to tourism destination. 

 

1 stamp, 4 features 

The Uhuru-Tourism stamp retailed at 1 Shilling, 30 Cents, a price that is merely nothing today, but one that was valuable back in the early sixties.  

The stamp had four uniquely Kenyan features about it: the first was the Treetops Lodge, a popular getaway located within the Aberdare National Park which is remembered as the place where Princess Elizabeth vacationed when she became the Queen of England; the second were two elephants – presumably a mother and her child – a symbol of Kenya’s big five animals (and if you’ve seen an elephant, you know that they are one of the most magnificent of the wildlife bunch); the third was the words ‘KENYA’ highlighted in bold, a show of where the lodge and the wildlife are found; lastly, the words ‘UHURU’ and 1963 beneath it – a local word in the spirit of self-rule, a word that can today still be described as “ours”. 

 

Kenya, the tourist destination 

Since 1963 Kenya’s tourism has grown in leaps and bounds, and we remain a king destination in the tourism space – not just on the continent, but globally – and this is thanks to the diversity of our land. From the sandy beaches at the coast where a range of marine life can be found, to the vast rift valley where an assortment of wildlife take shelter in the Mau Forest, to the drier lands in the southern region of Kenya where the famous wildebeest migration takes place. This goes to show how relevant and timeless this stamp is. 

Is this a stamp you or someone you know once owned? What letters was it used for? 

#KeStamps