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Last night I found this website of one of the Kenyan tribes, the Ogie.
http://www.ogiek.org/faq/history-kenya.htm

Here is part of it:

1963 Dec 12, Kenya gained independence from Britain and the Kenyan African National Union Party (KANU) began ruling. Jomo Kenyatta, a Kikuyu, was the first president and served until 1978.
(SFC, 10/17/96, A8)(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A9)(AP,12/12/97)(SFC,12/23/97, p.D4)(SFC, 8/8/98, p.A12)

1963 Dec. 13, Kenya became a republic.
(HFA, ‘96, p.44)

1964 Dec 12, Kenya formally became a republic.
(SFC, 9/4/97, p.A10)(HN, 12/12/98)

The stuff in the brackets refer to other books and documents but I don’t know what they are.

So according to these Kenyans, they considered themselves a republic but not formally until a year later. However they had already established a republican government under a president during the year before the formal ceremony. Therefore I see no problem with them using documents saying “Republic of Kenya”.