Kenya’s first President, Jomo Kenyatta, once refused to enter an elevator during an official government function in Mombasa, forcing his wife, Mama Ngina Kenyatta, to intervene.
The incident happened in 1970 when Kenyatta visited the Coast region to officially open the Coast Provincial Headquarters.
As part of the presidential visit, the former head of state was required to sign a visitors' book. He was escorted towards an elevator that would take him to the third floor, where the book was located.
However, when the elevator doors opened, Kenyatta declined to step inside. Instead, he called upon Mama Ngina and asked her to sign the visitors' book on his behalf.
Mama Ngina, however, came up with a different solution. Rather than signing the book herself, she instructed those accompanying them to bring it down to the ground floor so that her husband could sign it personally.
The incident offered a glimpse into Kenyatta's fear of heights, which reportedly influenced his reaction to the elevator during the official function.
https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/43232-day-jomo-kenyattas-elevator-phobia-forced-wife-intervene?amp=1&page=194
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