I believe that they wanted to cut loose from the colonial constitution that was bequeathed to them in 1963, KNEW they were after a Republic, and could easily have started using the term in the meantime. We need a Kenyan with experince in the promulgation of public records in the time period in question to resolve the issue. It's a question, for sure, but in the end it may be of no importance. The key issue is what's on page 5733 of Book 44B. Can someone please check?
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ke.html
What you know and what is fact are two different things. Go to the address above and click the first green INTRODUCTION +.