Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 April 2022
On 15 November 1902, Asian entrepreneur Alibhai MuUa Jeevanjee launched the African Standard in Mombasa with the support of editor and reporter W.H. Tiller (Kahaso, 1995). As a contractor for railway supplies, Jeevanjee had become wealthy through the construction of the Kenya-Uganda Railway (Patel, 1997). According to one account, “Ever an enterprising man.. Jeevanjee conceived of the idea of starting a newspaper in Mombasa. In due course, the African Standard was born” (Kahaso, 1995).
The newspaper continued to publish weekly reports despite changing its headquarters, ownership and title within its first ten years as a press. Jeevanjee, who had little experience as a journalist, soon sold his paper to two British businessmen. New owners Meyer and Anderson then in 1905 renamed the paper the East African Standard (Odonde, 1995). Five years later, after the seat of government moved from Mombasa to Nairobi, the newspaper's headquarters followed.