Wikipedia - n 1937 he returned to Kenya as a missionary, where his first station was at his birthplace Tumutumu. While there, he lived and worked as a missionary and also served as a chaplain in the British Army throughout World War II. In 1946 he married Jeane Caddick whom he had met while a student at the University of Edinburgh and after returning to Kenya set up home at Tumutumu.

He was well known for his love and identification with, the Kikuyu people of Kenya. During the Mau Mau insurgency, many of the Kikuyu who refused to take the Mau Mau oath were in danger of being killed. Philp successfully acted as a mediator on behalf of some of the Kikuyu to the British authorities.

Philp taught at St Paul's United Theological College at Limuru, where he was active in preparing and equipping Africans to become ministers. He later became the first Church of Scotland missionary at Nakuru in the Great Rift Valley, and then worked at Thogoto, a village near Nairobi. He was well regarded for his work in encouraging close partnerships with his African colleagues, and was tireless in his efforts to foster good relations between Kenyans and Europeans.

n 1952 while serving as a missionary in Kenya he acted as interpreter during the trial of Jomo Kenyatta. Kenyatta was charged with "managing and being a member" of Mau Mau, the insurgency rebellion against British rule in Kenya. Although he knew English well, Kenyatta determined to speak only in his native language, Kikuyu. The role of court translator was initially given to the archaeologist Louis Leakey, but due to challenges to his translation, Leakey resigned and was replaced by Philp. After a guilty verdict was rendered in April 1953, Kenyatta received a sentence of seven years' hard labour and he remained in prison until 1959.

After 23 years as a second-generation missionary, personal circumstances caused Philp reluctantly to resign in 1960, from the Church of Scotland Mission and leave Kenya. Philp became a Church of Scotland minister at Stepps, Scotland near Glasgow. Due to his influence, several of his congregation became missionaries or ministers. Philp retired in 1981, at the age of 69. He and his wife lived in Leeds, England where they became involved with a Congregational church, and later in Bath, where they became part of an Anglican church community.

In 1988 the Presbyterian Church of East Africa celebrated the 90th anniversary of the first Scottish missionaries' arrival in Kenya, and requested Philp to attend as guest of honour. While there, he returned to his birthplace, Tumutumu, and he discovered that he had retained his fluency in Kikuyu after 28 years in Britain.

The Presbyterian Church of East Africa's service of celebration at Thogoto was attended by more than 5,000 people, including President Daniel Arap Moi, and in his speech, as Philp spoke in Kikuyu, without notes, the attendees broke into spontaneous applause.

Obituary - Daily Telegraph 29 Apr 2008 - The Reverend Robert , who has died aged 95, was a Church of Scotland missionary in Kenya and acted as interpreter during the trial of Jomo Kenyatta in 1952. Kenyatta (later to become his nation's president) was charged with "managing and being a member" of Mau Mau, the insurgency against British rule in Kenya. The trial was held in a remote area amid great security and an atmosphere of extreme political tension. Although he knew English well, Kenyatta determined to speak only in his native language, Kikuyu. The role of court translator was initially given to the archaeologist Louis Leakey, but his interpretations were continually challenged by defence counsel, and an exasperated Leakey finally walked out.

Philp – who had been born and raised amongst the Kikuyu people of central Kenya, and was known for his mastery of their complex language as well as for the authenticity of his accent – was taken on in his stead. In April 1953 Kenyatta was sentenced to seven years' hard labour; he remained in prison until 1959.

Robert Anderson Philp was born on February 25 1913, the only child of a Scottish missionary doctor, the Rev Dr Horace Philp, founder of Tumutumu hospital near Nyeri, in the foothills of Mount Kenya. Robert was the first of the children born to the early Scottish missionaries in Kenya. Robert's mother Mary, a Latin scholar, taught Kikuyu to new missionaries. Her son's prowess in the language, however, derived from his upbringing as the only white child living amongst the Kikuyu people. Until the age of nine all his playmates were Kikuyu, and he grew up bilingual in Kikuyu and English. He was sent to George Watson's School in Edinburgh, and went on to read Divinity at Edinburgh University. His curiosity and taste for adventure led him to explore Europe by motorcycle. He spent a year studying at the Budapest College of the Reformed Church of Hungary, then, in 1937, returned to Kenya as a missionary.

Philp's first posting was to his birthplace, Tumutumu, where he lived and worked as a bachelor missionary and Army chaplain throughout the war years. At Edinburgh University he had met a fellow student, Jeane Caddick, and after the war they renewed their friendship when he made a return trip to Britain. They married in 1946 and set up home at Tumutumu. Philp had a deep affection for, and affinity with, the Kikuyu. During the insurgency of the 1950s Kikuyu who refused to take the Mau Mau oath were in danger of being killed, and many suffered this fate. Others were detained by the British on suspicion of being rebels, and Philp successfully interceded on behalf of some of these with the authorities. He would also visit Kikuyu Christians living deep in the bush in what was dangerous Mau Mau territory. On one occasion he was accompanied by Jeane, and they arrived at a village to find only one old, lame Kikuyu lady. "He has come, he has come. The bwana Philipo has come!" she exclaimed, as she abandoned her stick and danced with sheer joy at his arrival.

During the 1950s Philp worked alongside Anglicans and Methodists as the first Presbyterian tutor at St Paul's United Theological College at Limuru, preparing and equipping Africans to become ministers. Among his pupils were future leaders of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA). Later he became the first Church of Scotland missionary resident at Nakuru in the Rift Valley, and then worked at Thogoto, near Nairobi. He was noted for working in close partnership with his African colleagues, and was tireless in his efforts to foster good relations between Africans and Europeans. In 1960, after 23 years as a second generation missionary, personal circumstances caused Philp reluctantly to resign from the Church of Scotland Mission and leave Kenya. On the sea voyage to Britain his children so relished their time with him that he became known as "the man with the three adoring daughters".

Philp became a Church of Scotland minister at Stepps, near Glasgow. His was a strong evangelical message, and many attributed their faith to his ministry; several in his congregation later themselves became ministers or missionaries. He introduced the now common practice of young people participating in services with musical instruments and in singing groups. He also took great pleasure in introducing the congregation to visiting African ministers. Philp retired in 1981, aged 69. He and his wife went to live in Leeds, where they became involved with a Congregational church, and later in Bath, where they became part of an Anglican church community.

In 1988 the PCEA celebrated the 90th anniversary of the first Scottish missionaries' arrival in Kenya, and asked Philp to attend as guest of honour. As part of the trip he returned to his birthplace, Tumutumu, discovering that he was still fluent in Kikuyu after 28 years in Britain. An old lady at Tumutumu exclaimed: "It's Roberti! It's our Roberti! He's come home!", and recalled the day 75 years previously when, as a teenager, she had been invited into the Philpses' home by Robert's mother to see the new baby. The PCEA's service of celebration at Thogoto was attended by more than 5,000 people, including President Daniel Arap Moi. In his address, Philp spoke – without notes – in Kikuyu, and the crowd broke into spontaneous applause. Jeane Philp died in 2005. As he entered old age Philp reacted to increasing disability and frailty with typical resilience and dignity. He lived out his last days at a nursing home near Bath, but the pull of his heart was to Kenya, and it was his Kikuyu Bible that he chose to read, rather than an English one. Robert Philp died on March 1, and his ashes are to be buried in Kenya, amongst the Kikuyu people, because "after all, that is where I am from".

Facebook - Roger Green The Reverend Robert Philp acted as interpreter during the trial of Jomo Kenyatta in 1952. The role of court translator was initially given to the archaeologist Louis Leakey, but his interpretations were continually challenged by defence counsel, and an exasperated Leakey finally walked out. He was noted for working in close partnership with his African colleagues, and was tireless in his efforts to foster good relations between Africans and Europeans.

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