Indonesia in Focus: Unfinished journey (145)

Uhuru Kenyatta

Unfinished journey (145)

(The one hundred and forty-five, Depok, West Java, Indonesia, on October 12, 2014, at 19: 02 GMT)

Kenya, one of the most influential Countries in Africa, also not escape the politicalturmoil inside the country as well as the threat from terrorist groups from outside.

History of Kenya

Situated on the equator on Africa's east coast, Kenya has been described as "the cradle of humanity".

In the Great Rift Valley palaeontologists have discovered some of the earliest evidence of man's ancestors.

In the present day, Kenya's ethnic diversity has produced a vibrant culture but is also a source of conflict.

After independence from Britain in 1963, politics was dominated by the charismatic Jomo Kenyatta. He was succeeded in 1978 by Daniel arap Moi, who remained in power for 24 years. The ruling Kenya African National Union, Kanu, was the only legal political party for much of the 1980s.

Maasai men in Kenya

Kenya is ethnically and culturally diverse

Violent unrest - and international pressure - led to the restoration of multi-party politics in the early 1990s. But it was to be another decade before opposition candidate Mwai Kibaki ended nearly 40 years of Kanu rule with his landslide victory in 2002's general election.

Continue reading the main story

At a glance

Politics: Presidential elections in 2007 led to widespread unrest, which resulted in the formation of a power-sharing government. Polls in 2013 were largely peaceful

Economy: The economy has been recovering over recent years

International: Kenya's military entered Somalia at the end of 2011 to fight al-Shabab Islamist militants, who have carried out major reprisal attacks inside Kenya

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Special Report: Kenya Direct

Despite President Kibaki's pledge to tackle corruption, some donors estimated that up to $1bn had been lost to graft between 2002 and 2005.

Other pressing challenges include high unemployment, crime and poverty. Droughts frequently put millions of people at risk.

With its scenic beauty and abundant wildlife, Kenya is one of Africa's major safari destinations.

Kenya was shaken by inter-ethnic violence which followed disputed elections in 2007. Several prominent Kenyans stand accused of crimes against humanity for allegedly inciting the violence, and the authorities are increasingly sensitive to any attempts to stir up communal tension.

Kenya Map

The next elections, in 2013, passed off without violence and resulted in victory for Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of independence leader Jomo Kenyatta.

Kenya's military entered Somalia in October 2011 to curb the threat of the Islamist militant al-Shabab movement, which it accused of the kidnap and killing of tourists and aid workers. Kenyan troops are now largely integrated into the overall African Union forces in Somalia. There have been some reprisal attacks in Kenya itself.

Kenya

For the commune in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, see Kenya, Lubumbashi.

Republic of Kenya

Jamhuri ya Kenya

Flag Coat of arms

Motto: "Harambee" (Swahili)

"Let us all pull/pool together"

Anthem: Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu

O God of all creation

Location of Kenya (dark blue)– in Africa (light blue & dark grey)– in the African Union (light blue)

Location of Kenya (dark blue)

– in Africa (light blue & dark grey)

– in the African Union (light blue)

Capital

and largest city Nairobi

1°16′S 36°48′E / 1.267°S 36.800°E

Official languages

English[1]

Swahili[1]

Ethnic groups (2012[2])

22% Kikuyu

14% Luhya

13% Luo

12% Kalenjin

11% Kamba

6% Kisii

6% Meru

15% other African

1% non-African

Demonym Kenyan

Government Presidential republic

- President Uhuru Kenyatta

- Deputy President William Samoei Ruto

Legislature Parliament

- Upper house Senate

- Lower house National Assembly

Independence

- from the United Kingdom 12 December 1963

- Republic declared 12 December 1964

Area

- Total 581,309 km2 (49th)

224,080 sq mi

- Water (%) 2.3

Population

- 2014 estimate 45,010,056[3] (31st)

- 2009 census 38,610,097[4]

- Density 78/km2 (124th)

202/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2014 estimate

- Total $125.7 billion[5]

- Per capita $2,790[5]

GDP (nominal) 2014 estimate

- Total $56.3 billion[6]

- Per capita $1,269[6]

Gini (2014) 42.5[7]

medium · 48th

HDI (2013) Steady 0.535[7]

low · 147th

Currency Kenyan shilling (KES)

Time zone EAT (UTC+3)

- Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+3)

Date format dd/mm/yy (AD)

Drives on the left

Calling code +254

ISO 3166 code KE

Internet TLD .ke

[2] According to the CIA, estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of mortality because of AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex, than would otherwise be expected.

Kenya peop[le

Kenya (/ˈkɛnjə/ or /ˈkiːnjə/), officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country in the African Great Lakes region of East Africa. Its capital and largest city is Nairobi. Kenya lies on the equator with the Indian Ocean to the south-east, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west, Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the north-east. Kenya covers 581,309 km2 (224,445 sq mi) and has a population of approximately 44 million as of July 2012.[2]

Kenya has a warm, humid climate along its Indian Ocean coastline, with wildlife-rich savannah grasslands inland towards the capital. Nairobi has a cool climate which becomes colder closer to Mount Kenya, which has three permanently snow-capped peaks. Further inland, there is a warm and humid climate around Lake Victoria, and temperate forested and hilly areas in the western region. The northeastern regions along the border with Somalia and Ethiopia are arid and semi-arid areas with near-desert landscapes. Lake Victoria, the world's second largest fresh-water lake and the largest tropical lake, is situated to the southwest and is shared with Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya, along with Uganda and Tanzania is famous for its safaris and diverse wildlife reserves and national parks such as the East and West Tsavo National Park, the Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru National Park, and Aberdares National Park. There are several world heritage sites, such as Lamu; there are also many world renowned beaches, such as Kilifi, where international yachting competitions are held each year.

The African Great Lakes region, which Kenya is a part of, has been inhabited by humans since the Lower Paleolithic period. By the first millennium AD, the Bantu expansion had reached the area from West-Central Africa. The borders of the modern state consequently comprise the crossroads of the Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan and Afro-Asiatic areas of the continent, representing most major ethnolinguistic groups found in Africa. Bantu and Nilotic populations together constitute around 97% of the nation's residents.[8] European and Arab presence in coastal Mombasa dates to the Early Modern period; European exploration of the interior began in the 19th century. The British Empire established the East Africa Protectorate in 1895, which starting in 1920 gave way to the Kenya Colony. The Republic of Kenya obtained independence in December 1963. Following a referendum in August 2010 and adoption of a new constitution, Kenya is now divided into 47 semi-autonomous counties, governed by elected governors.

The capital, Nairobi, is a regional commercial hub. The economy of Kenya is the largest by GDP in Southeast and Central Africa.[9][10] Agriculture is a major employer; the country traditionally exports tea and coffee and has more recently begun to export fresh flowers to Europe. The service industry is also a major economic driver. Kenya is a member of the East African Community. Compared to other African countries, Kenya enjoys relatively high political and social stability.

Further information: Names on Mount Kenya

The name was long pronounced by colonial-heritage Europeans as /ˈkiːnjə/. The European pronunciation has been abandoned in modern times, in favor of the African version.[11]

The word Kenya, /ˈkɛnjə/, originates from the Kikuyu, Embu and Kamba names for Mount Kenya, "Kirinyaga", "Kirinyaa" and "Kiinyaa".[citation needed] Prehistoric volcanic eruptions of Mount Kenya (now extinct) may have resulted in its association with divinity and creation among the indigenous Kikuyu-related ethnic groups, who are the native inhabitants of the agricultural land surrounding Mount Kenya.[original research?]

The Kamba people first pointed out the second mountain to Dr. Krapf called "Kĩ-Nyaa" or "Kĩĩma- Kĩĩyaa" which is similar to Kĩrĩma Kĩrĩnyaga in Kikuyu... probably because the pattern of black rock and white snow on its peaks reminded them of the feathers of the cock ostrich.[12]

The word "Nyaga" is a Kikuyu – Embu word meaning "spot". It is a diminutive for "Manyaganyaga" (spots). The spots of the black rock and the white snow could be the origin of the words "Kĩrĩ-nyaga" which in this case means 'spotted'. Therefore, Mwene-Nyaga (Agikuyu: "God") means "The owner/guardian of the spotted mountain".

In the 19th century, the German explorer Ludwig Krapf recorded the name as both Kenia and Kegnia believed by some to be a corruption of the Kamba version.[13][14][15] Others say that this was—on the contrary—a very precise notation of a correct African pronunciation /ˈkɛnjə/.[16] An 1882 map drawn by Joseph Thompsons, a Scottish geologist and naturalist, indicated Mt. Kenya as Mt. Kenia, 18620.[12] Controversy over the actual meaning of the word Kenya notwithstanding, it is clear that the mountain's name became widely accepted, pars pro toto, as the name of the country.

Geography and climate[edit]

Main article: Geography of Kenya

Map of Kenya.

At 580,367 km2 (224,081 sq mi),[2] Kenya is the world's forty-seventh largest country (after Madagascar). It lies between latitudes 5°N and 5°S, and longitudes 34° and 42°E. From the coast on the Indian Ocean, the low plains rise to central highlands. The highlands are bisected by the Great Rift Valley, with a fertile plateau lying to the east.

The Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa. The highlands are the site of the highest point in Kenya and the second highest peak on the continent: Mount Kenya, which reaches 5,199 m (17,057 ft) and is the site of glaciers. Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 m or 19,341 ft) can be seen from Kenya to the South of the Tanzanian border.

Kenya's climate varies from tropical along the coast to temperate inland to arid in the north and northeast parts of the country. The area receives a great deal of sunshine every month, and summer clothes are worn throughout the year. It is usually cool at night and early in the morning inland at higher elevations.

The "long rains" season occurs from March/April to May/June. The "short rains" season occurs from October to November/December. The rainfall is sometimes heavy and often falls in the afternoons and evenings. The temperature remains high throughout these months of tropical rain. The hottest period is February and March, leading into the season of the long rains, and the coldest is in July, until mid August.

Nairobi

A giraffe at Nairobi National Park, with Nairobi's skyline in background

Average annual temperatures

City Elevation (m) Max (°C) Min (°C)

Mombasa coastal town 17 32.3 23.8

Nairobi capital city 1,661 25.2 13.6

Kisumu lakeside city 1,131 31.8 16.9

Eldoret Rift Valley town 2,085 23.6 9.5

Lodwar dry north plainlands 506 34.8 23.7

Mandera dry north plainlands 506 34.8 25.7

Wildlife[edit]

Main articles: Wildlife of Kenya and Environmental issues in Kenya

Kenya has considerable land area devoted to wildlife habitats, including the Masai Mara, where Blue Wildebeest and other bovids participate in a large scale annual migration. Up to 250,000[citation needed] blue wildebeest perish each year in the long and arduous movement to find forage in the dry season.[citation needed]

The "Big Five" animals of Africa can be found in Kenya and in the Masai Mara in particular: the lion, leopard, buffalo, rhinoceros, and elephant. A significant population of other wild animals, reptiles and birds can be found in the national parks and game reserves in the country. The annual animal migration – especially migration of the wildebeest – occurs between June and September with millions of animals taking part, attracting valuable foreign tourism.

Kenya is the setting for one of the Natural Wonders of the World – the great wildebeest migration. 2 million of these ungulates migrate a distance of 1,800 miles (2,897 km) from the Serengeti in neighbouring Tanzania to the Masai Mara[17] in Kenya, in a constant clockwise fashion, searching for food and water supplies.

History[edit]

Main article: History of Kenya

Prehistory[edit]

The Turkana boy, a 1.6-million-year-old hominid fossil belonging to Homo erectus.

Giant crocodile fossils have been discovered in Kenya dating from the Mesozoic Era, over 200 million years ago. The fossils were found in July–August 2004, during an excavation conducted by a team from the University of Utah and the National Museums of Kenya at Lokitaung Gorge, near Lake Turkana.[18]

Fossils found in East Africa suggest that primates roamed the area more than 20 million years ago. Recent findings near Kenya's Lake Turkana indicate that hominids such as Homo habilis (1.8 and 2.5 million years ago) and Homo erectus (1.8 million to 350,000 years ago) are possible direct ancestors of modern Homo sapiens, and lived in Kenya in the Pleistocene epoch. During excavations at Lake Turkana in 1984, paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey assisted by Kamoya Kimeu discovered the Turkana boy, a 1.6-million-year-old fossil belonging to Homo erectus. Previous research on early hominids is particularly identified with Mary Leakey and Louis Leakey, who were responsible for the preliminary archaeological research at Olorgesailie and Hyrax Hill. Later work at the former site was undertaken by Glynn Isaac.[19]

Neolithic[edit]

Kenya has been inhabited by people for as long as human history has existed.

The first inhabitants of present-day Kenya were hunter-gatherer groups, akin to the modern Khoisan speakers.[20] These people were later replaced by agropastoralist Cushitic speakers from the Horn of Africa.[21] During the early Holocene, the regional climate shifted from dry to wetter climatic conditions, providing an opportunity for the development of cultural traditions, such as agriculture and herding, in a more favourable environment.[20]

Around 500 BC, Nilotic speaking pastoralists (ancestral to Kenya's Nilotic speakers) started migrating from present-day Southern Sudan into Kenya.[22][23][24] Nilotic groups in Kenya include the Samburu, Luo, Turkana, Maasai.[25]

By the first millennium AD, Bantu-speaking farmers had moved into the region.[26] The Bantus originated in West Africa along the Benue River in what is now eastern Nigeria and western Cameroon.[27] The Bantu migration brought new developments in agriculture and iron working to the region.[27] Bantu groups in Kenya include the Kikuyu, Luhya, Kamba, Kisii, Meru, Aembu, Ambeere, Wadawida-Watuweta, Wapokomo and Mijikenda among others.

Remarkable prehistoric sites in the interior of Kenya include the archaeoastronomical site Namoratunga on the west side of Lake Turkana and the walled settlement of ThimLich Ohinga in Migori County.

Swahili culture and trade (1st century-19th century)[edit]

Further information: Swahili culture and Sultanate of Zanzibar

A traditional Swahili carved wooden door in Lamu.

The Kenyan coast had served host to communities of ironworkers and communities of Bantu subsistence farmers, hunters and fishers who supported the economy with agriculture, fishing, metal production and trade with foreign countries.[28]

Arabs from southern Arabia settled on the coast among the Bantu people and helped to establish many new autonomous city-states, including Mombasa, Malindi, and Zanzibar; the Arab migrants also introduced Islam to the area. This blending of cultures left a notable Arabian influence on the local Bantu Swahili culture and language of the coast.[29]

The Kilwa Sultanate was a medieval sultanate, centred at Kilwa in modern-day Tanzania. At its height, its authority stretched over the entire length of the Swahili Coast, including Kenya. It was founded in the 10th century by Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi,[30] a Persian Sultan from Shiraz in southern Iran.[31] The subsequent Swahili rulers would go on to build elaborate coral mosques and introduce copper coinage.[32]

Kenya Female Troops

Pottery sherds from the Kilwa Sultanate, founded in the 10th century by the Persian Sultan Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi.

The Swahili built Mombasa into a major port city and established trade links with other nearby city-states, as well as commercial centres in Persia, Arabia, and even India.[33] By the 15th-century, Portuguese voyager Duarte Barbosa claimed that "Mombasa is a place of great traffic and has a good harbour in which there are always moored small craft of many kinds and also great ships, both of which are bound from Sofala and others which come from Cambay and Melinde and others which sail to the island of Zanzibar."[34]

Later on in the 17th century, once the Swahili coast was conquered and came under direct rule of Omani Arabs, the slave trade was expanded by the Omani Arabs to meet the demands of plantations in Oman and Zanzibar.[35] Initially these traders came mainly from Oman, but later many came from Zanzibar (such as Tippu Tip).[36] In addition, the Portuguese started buying slaves from the Omani and Zanzibari traders in response to the interruption of the transatlantic slave trade by British abolitionists.

Swahili, a Bantu language with Arabic, Persian, and other Middle Eastern and South Asian loanwords, later developed as a lingua franca for trade between the different peoples.[28] Swahili now also has loan words from English.

Throughout the centuries, the Kenyan Coast has played host to many merchants and explorers. Among the cities that line the Kenyan coast is the City of Malindi. It has remained an important Swahili settlement since the 14th century and once rivalled Mombasa for dominance in the African Great Lakes region. Malindi has traditionally been a friendly port city for foreign powers. In 1414, the Swahili Sultan of Malindi initiated diplomatic relations with Ming Dynasty China during the voyages of the explorer Zheng He.[37] Malindi authorities welcomed the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama in 1498.

British Kenya (1888–1962)[edit]

Main article: British Kenya

British East Africa in 1909.

The colonial history of Kenya dates from the establishment of a German protectorate over the Sultan of Zanzibar's coastal possessions in 1885, followed by the arrival of the Imperial British East Africa Company in 1888. Incipient imperial rivalry was forestalled when Germany handed its coastal holdings to Britain in 1890. This was followed by the building of the Kenya–Uganda railway passing through the country.[38]

This was resisted by some ethnicities — notably the Nandi led by Orkoiyot Koitalel Arap Samoei for ten years from 1890 to 1900 — still the British eventually built the railway. The Nandi were the first ethnicity to be put in a native reserve to stop them from disrupting the building of the railway. In 1920 the East Africa Protectorate was turned into a colony and renamed Kenya, for its highest mountain.[38]

During the railway construction era, there was a significant inflow of Indian people, who provided the bulk of the skilled manpower required for construction.[39] They and most of their descendants later remained in Kenya and formed the core of several distinct Indian communities such as the Ismaili Muslim and Sikh communities.[40]

While building the railroad through Tsavo, a number of the Indian railway workers and local African labourers were attacked by two lions known as the Tsavo maneaters.[41]

At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the governors of British East Africa (as the Protectorate was generally known) and German East Africa agreed a truce in an attempt to keep the young colonies out of direct hostilities. Lt Col Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck took command of the German military forces, determined to tie down as many British resources as possible. Completely cut off from Germany, von Lettow conducted an effective guerrilla warfare campaign, living off the land, capturing British supplies, and remaining undefeated. He eventually surrendered in Northern Rhodesia (today Zambia) fourteen days after the Armistice was signed in 1918.[39]

The Kenya–Uganda railway near Mombasa, about 1899.

To chase von Lettow, the British deployed the British Indian Army troops from India and then needed large numbers of porters to overcome the formidable logistics of transporting supplies far into the interior on foot. The Carrier Corps was formed and ultimately mobilised over 400,000 Africans, contributing to their long-term politicisation.[39]

During the early part of the 20th century, the interior central highlands were settled by British and other European farmers, who became wealthy farming coffee and tea.[42] (One depiction of this period of change from one colonist's perspective is found in the memoir Out of Africa by Danish author Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke, published in 1937.) By the 1930s, approximately 30,000 white settlers lived in the area and gained a political voice because of their contribution to the market economy.[39]

The central highlands were already home to over a million members of the Kikuyu people, most of whom had no land claims in European terms and lived as itinerant farmers. To protect their interests, the settlers banned the growing of coffee, introduced a hut tax, and the landless were granted less and less land in exchange for their labour. A massive exodus to the cities ensued as their ability to provide a living from the land dwindled.[39] There were 80,000 white settlers living in Kenya in the 1950s.[43]

In 1952, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Phillip were on holiday at the Treetops Hotel in Kenya when her father, King George VI, passed away in his sleep. The young princess cut short her trip and returned home immediately to take her throne. Queen Elizabeth II was crowned at the Westminster Abbey in 1953 and as British hunter and conservationist Jim Corbett (who accompanied the Royal Couple) put it, she went up a tree in Africa a princess and came down a queen.[44]

Mau Mau Uprising (1952–1959)[edit]

Further information: Mau Mau Uprising

A statue of Dedan Kimathi, a Kenyan rebel leader with the Mau Mau who fought against the British colonial system in the 1950s.

From October 1952 to December 1959, Kenya was under a state of emergency arising from the Mau Mau rebellion against British rule. The governor requested and obtained British and African troops, including the King's African Rifles. The British began counter-insurgency operations; May 1953, General Sir George Erskine took charge as commander-in-chief of the colony's armed forces, with the personal backing of Winston Churchill.[45]

The capture of Warũhiũ Itote (aka General China) on 15 January 1954 and the subsequent interrogation led to a better understanding of the Mau Mau command structure. Operation Anvil opened on 24 April 1954, after weeks of planning by the army with the approval of the War Council. The operation effectively placed Nairobi under military siege, and the occupants were screened and the Mau Mau supporters moved to detention camps. The Home Guard formed the core of the government's strategy as it was composed of loyalist Africans, not foreign forces like the British Army and King's African Rifles. By the end of the emergency, the Home Guard had killed 4,686 Mau Mau, amounting to 42% of the total insurgents. The capture of Dedan Kimathi on 21 October 1956 in Nyeri signified the ultimate defeat of the Mau Mau and essentially ended the military offensive.[45] During this period, substantial governmental changes to land tenure occurred. The most important of these was the Swynnerton Plan, which was used to both reward loyalists and punish Mau Mau.

Kenya Kids

Independent Kenya (1963)[edit]

The first President and founding father of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta.

The first direct elections for native Kenyans to the Legislative Council took place in 1957. Despite British hopes of handing power to "moderate" local rivals, it was the Kenya African National Union (KANU) of Jomo Kenyatta that formed a government shortly before Kenya became independent on 12 December 1963, on the same day forming the first Constitution of Kenya.[46]

Concurrently, the Kenyan army fought the Shifta War against ethnic Somali rebels inhabiting the Northern Frontier District, who wanted to join their kin in the Somali Republic to the north.[47] A cease fire was eventually reached with the signature of the Arusha Memorandum in October 1967, but relative insecurity prevailed through 1969.[48][49] To discourage further invasions, Kenya signed a defence pact with Ethiopia in 1969, which is still in effect.[50]

On 12 December 1964 the Republic of Kenya was proclaimed, and Jomo Kenyatta became Kenya's first president.[51]

Moi era (1978–2002)[edit]

At Kenyatta's death in 1978, Daniel arap Moi became President. Daniel arap Moi retained the Presidency, being unopposed in elections held in 1979, 1983 (snap elections) and 1988, all of which were held under the single party constitution. The 1983 elections were held a year early, and were a direct result of an abortive military coup attempt on 2 August 1982.

Foreign Office Minister Henry Bellingham with Mwai Kibaki, President of Kenya in London, 31 July 2012.

The abortive coup was masterminded by a low ranked Air Force serviceman, Senior Private Hezekiah Ochuka, and was staged mainly by enlisted men in the Air Force. The putsch was quickly suppressed by forces commanded by Chief of General Staff Mahamoud Mohamed, a veteran Somali military official.[52] They included the General Service Unit (GSU) — a paramilitary wing of the police — and later the regular police.

On the heels of the Garissa Massacre of 1980, Kenyan troops committed the Wagalla massacre in 1984 against thousands of civilians in the former North Eastern Province (present day Garissa, Wajir and Mandera counties). An official probe into the atrocities was later ordered in 2011.[53]

The election held in 1988 saw the advent of the mlolongo (queuing) system, where voters were supposed to line up behind their favoured candidates instead of a secret ballot.[54] This was seen as the climax of a very undemocratic regime and it led to widespread agitation for constitutional reform. Several contentious clauses, including one that allowed for only one political party were changed in the following years.[55] In democratic, multiparty elections in 1992 and 1997, Daniel arap Moi won re-election.[56]

2000s[edit]

In 2002, Moi was constitutionally barred from running, and Mwai Kǐbakǐ, running for the opposition coalition "National Rainbow Coalition" — NARC, was elected President. Anderson (2003) reports the elections were judged free and fair by local and international observers, and seemed to mark a turning point in Kenya's democratic evolution.[56]

In mid-2011, two consecutive missed rainy seasons precipitated the worst drought in East Africa seen in 60 years. The northwestern Turkana region was especially affected,[57] with local schools shut down as a result.[58] The crisis was reportedly over by early 2012 because of coordinated relief efforts. Aid agencies subsequently shifted their emphasis to recovery initiatives, including digging irrigation canals and distributing plant seeds.[59]

Government and politics[edit]

Main article: Politics of Kenya

Former president Mwai Kibaki

Kenya is a presidential representative democratic republic. The President is both the head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly or parliamentary lower house. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. There was growing concern especially during former president Daniel arap Moi's tenure that the executive was increasingly meddling with the affairs of the judiciary.[citation needed]

Kenya ranks low on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI), a metric which attempts to gauge the prevalence of public sector corruption in various countries. In 2012, the nation placed 139th out of 176 total countries in the CPI, with a score of 27/100.[60] However, there are several rather significant developments with regards to curbing corruption from the Kenyan government, for instance, the establishment of a new and independent Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).[61]

Supreme Court of Kenya building

Following general elections held in 1997, the Constitution of Kenya Review Act designed to pave the way for more comprehensive amendments to the Kenyan constitution was passed by the local parliament.[62]

In December 2002, Kenyans held democratic and open elections, most of which were judged free and fair by international observers. The 2002 elections marked an important turning point in Kenya's democratic evolution in that power was transferred peacefully from the Kenya African National Union (KANU), which had ruled the country since independence to the National Rainbow Coalition, a coalition of political parties.

Under the presidency of Mwai Kibaki, the new ruling coalition promised to focus its efforts on generating economic growth, combating corruption, improving education, and rewriting its constitution. A few of these promises have been met. There is free primary education. In 2007, the government issued a statement declaring that from 2008, secondary education would be heavily subsidised, with the government footing all tuition fees.[63]

2007 elections[edit]

Main articles: Kenyan general election, 2007, Kenyan parliamentary election, 2007 and Kenyan presidential election, 2007

Orange Democratic Movement supporters at a rally during the 2007–08 Kenyan crisis

The 2007 Kenyan general election was held on 27 December 2007.[64] It comprised Presidential, parliamentary and civic elections.

The parliamentary elections were considered to be free and generally fair (as opposed to the contested presidential elections). They were remarkable for a number of changes. Amongst these were:

Out of 190 outgoing MPs defending their seats only 71 were re-elected.

20 ministers defending their seats were defeated

KANU the official opposition party of 2002 which later joined the government was reduced from 62 to 14 seats.

15 female candidates were elected which is the highest number ever in Kenyan history (2002: 9)

Campaign Issues included:

Appropriations of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) money

MP's Salary hikes

Legislation passed / not passed in the 9th Parliament

Changing the constitution.

In the Presidential elections, President Kibaki under the Party of National Unity ran for re-election against the main opposition party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). The elections were seen to have been flawed with international observers saying that they were below international standards. After a split which took a crucial 8% of the votes away from the ODM to the newly formed Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya (ODM-K)'s candidate, Kalonzo Musyoka, the race tightened between ODM candidate Raila Odinga and Kibaki. As the count came into the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) headquarters, Odinga was shown to have a slight, and then substantial lead as the results from his strongholds came in early. As the ECK continued to count the votes, Kibaki closed the gap and then overtook his opponent by a substantial margin after votes from his stronghold arrived later. This led to protests and open discrediting of the ECK for complicity and to Odinga declaring himself the "people's president" and calling for a recount.[65]

The protests escalated into ethnic violence and destruction of property, almost 1,000 people were killed and nearly 600,000 displaced.[66][67][68] The dispute caused underlying tensions over land and its distribution to re-erupt, as it had in the 1992 and 1997 elections.[68] Hundreds of thousands were forced off their land to relatives elsewhere in the country and some claim weapons are being bought in the region, perhaps in anticipation of the 2013 elections.[68]

A group of eminent persons of Africa, led by former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, brokered a peaceful solution to the political stalemate.

Since the election riots, the government and civil society organisations started programmes to avoid similar disasters in the future, said Agnes R. M. Aboum – executive director of TAABCO Research and Development Consultants in Nairobi – in the magazine D+C Development and Cooperation. For example, the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission initiated community dialogues, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya started peace meetings and the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation process was started.

2008[edit]

Former prime minister Raila Odinga

On 28 February 2008, Kibaki and Odinga signed an agreement on the formation of a coalition government in which Odinga would become Kenya's second Prime Minister. Under the deal, the president would appoint cabinet ministers from both PNU and ODM camps depending on each party's strength in Parliament. The agreement stipulated that the cabinet would include a vice-president and two deputy Prime Ministers. After debates, it was passed by Parliament, the coalition would hold until the end of the current Parliament or if either of the parties withdraws from the deal before then.[69]

The new office of the PM will have power and authority to co-ordinate and supervise the functions of the Government and will be occupied by an elected MP who will be the leader of the party or coalition with majority members in Parliament. The world watched Annan and his UN-backed panel and African Union chairman Jakaya Kikwete as they brought together the former rivals to the signing ceremony, beamed live on national TV from the steps of Nairobi's Harambee House. On 29 February 2008, representatives of PNU and ODM began working on the finer details of the power-sharing agreement.[70] Kenyan lawmakers unanimously approved a power-sharing deal 18 March 2008, aimed at salvaging a country usually seen as one of the most stable and prosperous in Africa. The deal brought Kibaki's PNU and Odinga's ODM together and heralded the formation of the grand coalition, in which the two political parties would share power equally.[71]

Grand coalition[edit]

On 13 April 2008, President Kibaki named a grand coalition cabinet of 41 Ministers- including the prime minister and his two deputies. The cabinet, which included 50 Assistant Ministers, was sworn in at the State House in Nairobi on Thursday, 17 April 2008, in the presence of Dr. Kofi Annan and other invited dignitaries.

A constitutional change was considered that would eliminate the position of Prime Minister[72] and simultaneously reduce the powers of the President. A referendum to vote on the proposed constitution was held on 4 August 2010, and the new constitution passed by a wide margin.[73] Among other things, the new constitution delegates more power to local governments and gives Kenyans a bill of rights.[74] It was promulgated on 27 August 2010 at a euphoric ceremony in Nairobi's Uhuru Park, accompanied by a 21-gun salute. The event was graced by a number of African leaders and praised by the international community. As of that day, the new constitution heralding the Second Republic came into force.

Kenya Military Tanks

2013 elections and new government[edit]

Main articles: Kenyan general election, 2013, Kenyan presidential election, 2013, Kenya National Assembly elections, 2013, Kenya Senate elections, 2013, Kenya gubernatorial elections, 2013, Kenya Women Representatives elections, 2013 and Kenya County Representative elections, 2013

Incumbent President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta.

Under the new constitution and with President Kibaki prohibited by term limits from running for a third term, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta ran and won with 50.51% of the vote in March 2013.

International presidential visits[edit]

With International Criminal Court trial dates in 2013 for both President Kenyatta and Vice-President William Ruto related to the 2007 election aftermath, US President Barack Obama chose not to visit the country during his mid-2013 African trip.[75] Later in the summer, Kenyatta visited China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping after a stop in Russia and not having visited the United States as president.[76]

Administrative divisions[edit]

Main articles: Counties of Kenya, Provinces of Kenya and Divisions of Kenya

47 Counties of Kenya

Kenya is divided into 47 semi-autonomous counties that are headed by governors who were elected in the first general election under the new constitution in March 2013. These 47 counties now form the first-order divisions of the country. Under the old constitution, Kenya comprised eight provinces each headed by a Provincial Commissioner (centrally appointed by the president). The provinces (mkoa singular, mikoa plural in Swahili) were subdivided into districts (wilaya).

Constituencies are an electoral subdivision, with each county comprising a whole number of constituencies. An Interim Boundaries commission was formed in year 2010 to review the constituencies and in its report, it recommended creation of an additional 80 constituencies. Previous to the 2013 elections, there were 210 constituencies in Kenya.[77]

Economy[edit]

Main article: Economy of Kenya

Although Kenya is the biggest and most advanced economy in east and central Africa and a minority of the wealthy urban population often leaves a misleading impression of affluence, Kenya is still a poor developing country with a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.519, putting the country at position 145 out of 186 – one of the lowest in the world and about 38% of Kenyans live in absolute poverty.[78] The important agricultural sector is one of the least developed and largely inefficient, employing 75% of the workforce compared to less than 3% in the food secure developed countries.

The market hall in Mombasa

Despite western donors' early disillusionment with the government, the economy has seen much expansion, seen by strong performance in tourism, higher education and telecommunications, and acceptable post-drought results in agriculture, especially the vital tea sector.[79] Kenya's economy grew by more than 7% in 2007, and its foreign debt was greatly reduced.[79] But this changed immediately after the disputed presidential election of December 2007, following the chaos which engulfed the country.

East and Central Africa's biggest economy has posted tremendous growth in the service sector, boosted by rapid expansion in telecommunication and financial activity over the last decade, and now contributes 62% of GDP. Unfortunately, a massive 22% of GDP still comes from the unreliable agricultural sector which employs 75% of the labour force (a consistent characteristic of under-developed economies that have not attained food security – an important catalyst of economic growth) and a significant portion of the population regularly starves and is heavily dependent on food aid. Industry and manufacturing is the smallest sector that accounts for 16% of the GDP.

Kenya has traditionally been a liberal market with minimal government involvement (price control) seen in the oil industry. However, recent legislation allows the government to determine and gazette price-controls on essential commodities like maize flour, kerosine and cooking oil.

Privatisation of state corporations like the defunct Kenya Post and Telecommunications Company, which resulted in East Africa's most profitable company – Safaricom, has led to their revival because of massive private investment.

Apportionment of Kenya's product exports

As of May 2011, economic prospects are positive with 4–5% GDP growth expected, largely because of expansions in tourism, telecommunications, transport, construction and a recovery in agriculture. The World Bank estimated growth of 4.3% in 2012.[80]

Kenya, Trends in the Human Development Index 1970–2010

Tsavo East National Park

In March 1996, the presidents of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda re-established the East African Community (EAC). The EAC's objectives include harmonising tariffs and customs regimes, free movement of people, and improving regional infrastructures. In March 2004, the three East African countries signed a Customs Union Agreement.

The more efficient and lucrative technology-knowledge-and-skill-based service; industry and manufacturing sectors only employ 25% of the labour force but contributes the remaining 75% of the GDP.[79]

Kenya is East and Central Africa's hub for Financial services. The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) is ranked 4th in Africa in terms of Market capitalisation.[citation needed] The Kenya banking system is supervised by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). As of late July 2004, the system consisted of 43 commercial banks (down from 48 in 2001), several non-bank financial institutions, including mortgage companies, four savings and loan associations, and several score foreign-exchange bureaus.[79]

Tourism[edit]

Main article: Tourism in Kenya

Elephants at Amboseli National Park against Mount Kilimanjaro

Kenya's services sector, which contributes 61% of GDP, is dominated by tourism. The tourism sector has exhibited steady growth in most years since independence and by the late 1980s had become the country's principal source of foreign exchange. Tourists, the largest number from Germany and the United Kingdom, are attracted mainly to the coastal beaches and the game reserves, notably, the expansive East and West Tsavo National Park (20,808 square kilometres (8,034 sq mi)) in the southeast. Tourism has seen a substantial revival over the past several years and is the major contributor to the pick-up in the country's economic growth. Tourism is now Kenya's largest foreign exchange earning sector, followed by flowers, tea, and coffee. In 2006 tourism generated US$803 million, up from US$699 million the previous year. Presently, there are also numerous Shopping Malls in Kenya. In addition, there are two hypermarkets in Kenya.

Agriculture[edit]

Main article: Agriculture in Kenya

A Tea farm near Kericho, Kericho County

Agriculture is the second largest contributor to Kenya's gross domestic product (GDP), after the service sector. In 2005 agriculture, including forestry and fishing, accounted for 24% of GDP, as well as for 18% of wage employment and 50% of revenue from exports. The principal cash crops are tea, horticultural produce, and coffee. Horticultural produce and tea are the main growth sectors and the two most valuable of all of Kenya's exports. The production of major food staples such as corn is subject to sharp weather-related fluctuations. Production downturns periodically necessitate food aid—for example, in 2004 aid for 1.8 million people because of one of Kenya's intermittent droughts.[citation needed]

A Kenyan farmer at work in the Mount Kenya region.

A consortium led by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has had some success in helping farmers grow new pigeon pea varieties, instead of maize, in particularly dry areas. Pigeon peas are very drought resistant, so can be grown in areas with less than 650 mm annual rainfall. Successive projects encouraged the commercialisation of legumes, by stimulating the growth of local seed production and agro-dealer networks for distribution and marketing. This work, which included linking producers to wholesalers, helped to increase local producer prices by 20–25% in Nairobi and Mombasa. The commercialisation of the pigeon pea is now enabling some farmers to buy assets, ranging from mobile phones to productive land and livestock, and is opening pathways for them to move out of poverty.[81]

Tea, coffee, sisal, pyrethrum, corn, and wheat are grown in the fertile highlands, one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa. Livestock predominates in the semi-arid savanna to the north and east. Coconuts, pineapples, cashew nuts, cotton, sugarcane, sisal, and corn are grown in the lower-lying areas. Unfortunately, the country has not attained the level of investment and efficiency in agriculture that can guarantee food security and coupled with resulting poverty (53% of the population lives below the poverty line), a significant portion of the population regularly starves and is heavily dependent on food aid. Poor roads, an inadequate railway network, under-used water transport and expensive air transport have isolated mostly arid and semi-arid areas and farmers in other regions often leave food to rot in the fields because they cannot access markets. This was last seen in August and September 2011 prompting the Kenyans for Kenya initiative by the Red Cross.[82]

Industry and manufacturing[edit]

The Kenya Commercial Bank headquarters at KENCOM House in Nairobi.

Although Kenya is the most industrially developed country in the African Great Lakes region, manufacturing still accounts for only 14% of the GDP. Industrial activity, concentrated around the three largest urban centres, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, is dominated by food-processing industries such as grain milling, beer production, and sugarcane crushing, and the fabrication of consumer goods, e.g., vehicles from kits. There is a vibrant and fast growing cement production industry.[citation needed] Kenya has an oil refinery that processes imported crude petroleum into petroleum products, mainly for the domestic market. In addition, a substantial and expanding informal sector commonly referred to as Jua Kali engages in small-scale manufacturing of household goods, motor-vehicle parts, and farm implements.[citation needed]

Kenya's inclusion among the beneficiaries of the US Government's African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has given a boost to manufacturing in recent years. Since AGOA took effect in 2000, Kenya's clothing sales to the United States increased from US$44 million to US$270 million (2006).[citation needed] Other initiatives to strengthen manufacturing have been the new government's favourable tax measures, including the removal of duty on capital equipment and other raw materials.[citation needed]

Energy[edit]

Main article: Energy in Kenya

The largest share of Kenya's electricity supply comes from hydroelectric stations at dams along the upper Tana River, as well as the Turkwel Gorge Dam in the west. A petroleum-fired plant on the coast, geothermal facilities at Olkaria (near Nairobi), and electricity imported from Uganda make up the rest of the supply. Kenya's installed capacity stood at 1,142 megawatts between 2001 and 2003. The state-owned Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), established in 1997 under the name of Kenya Power Company, handles the generation of electricity, while Kenya Power handles the electricity transmission and distribution system in the country. Shortfalls of electricity occur periodically, when drought reduces water flow. To become energy sufficient, Kenya aims to build a nuclear power plant by 2017.[83]

Workers at Olkaria Geothermal Power Plant

Kenya has proven deposits of oil in Turkana and the commercial viability was just discovered. Tullow Oil plc estimates Kenya's oil reserves to be around 10 billion barrels.[84] Exploration is still continuing to determine if there are more reserves. Kenya currently imports all crude petroleum requirements. Kenya, east Africa's largest economy, has no strategic reserves and relies solely on oil marketers' 21-day oil reserves required under industry regulations. Petroleum accounts for 20% to 25% of the national import bill.[85]

Overall Chinese investment and trade[edit]

Published comments on Kenya's Capital FM website by Liu Guangyuan, China's ambassador to Kenya, at the time of President Kenyatta's 2013 trip to Beijing, said, "Chinese investment in Kenya ... reached $474 million, representing Kenya's largest source of foreign direct investment, and ... bilateral trade ... reached $2.84 billion" in 2012. Kenyatta was "[a]ccompanied by 60 Kenyan business people [and hoped to] ... gain support from China for a planned $2.5 billion railway from the southern Kenyan port of Mombasa to neighboring Uganda, as well as a nearly $1.8 billion dam", according to a statement from the president's office also at the time of the trip.[76] Base Titanium a subsidiary of Base resources of Australia shipped its first major consignment of minerals to China. About 25,000 tonnes of ilmenite was flagged off the Kenyan coastal town of Kilifi. The first shipment was expected to earn Kenya about Shs15 – Shs20 Billion in earnings[86]

Kenya Jet Fighter

Vision 2030[edit]

The official logo of Vision 2030

In 2007, the Kenyan government unveiled Vision 2030, an economic development programme it hopes will put the country in the same league as the Asian Economic Tigers by the year 2030. In 2013, it launched a National Climate Change Action Plan, having acknowledged that omitting climate as a key development issue in Vision 2030 was an oversight. The 200-page Action Plan, developed with support from the Climate & Development Knowledge Network, sets out the Government of Kenya's vision for a 'low carbon climate resilient development pathway'. At the launch in March 2013, the Secretary of the Ministry of Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 emphasised that climate will be a central issue in the renewed Medium Term Plan that will be launched in the coming months. This will create a direct and robust delivery framework for the Action Plan and ensure climate change is treated as an economy-wide issue.[87]

Economic summary

GDP $41.84 billion (2012) at Market Price. $76.07 billion (Purchasing Power Parity, 2012)

There exists an informal economy that is never counted as part of the official GDP figures.

Annual growth rate 5.1% (2012)

Per capita income Per Capita Income (PPP)= $1,800

Agricultural produce tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables, dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs

Industry small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, clothing, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products, horticulture, oil refining; aluminium, steel, lead; cement, commercial ship repair, tourism

Trade in 2012

Exports $5.942 billion tea, coffee, horticultural products, petroleum products, cement, fish

Major markets Uganda 9.9%, Tanzania 9.6%, Netherlands 8.4%, UK, 8.1%, US 6.2%, Egypt 4.9%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 4.2% (2012)[2]

Imports $14.39 billion machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics

Major suppliers China 15.3%, India 13.8%, UAE 10.5%, Saudi Arabia 7.3%, South Africa 5.5%, Japan 4.0% (2012)[2]

Oil exploration[edit]

See also: Healthcare in Kenya

Outpatient Department of AIC Kapsowar Hospital in Kapsowar.

Nurses treat 80% of the population who visit dispensaries, health centres and private clinics in rural and under-served urban areas. Complicated cases are referred to clinical officers, medical officers and consultants (specialists). According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, in 2011 there were 65,000 qualified nurses registered in the country; 8,600 clinical officers and 7,000 doctors for the population of 43 million people (These figures from official registers include those who have died or left the profession hence the actual number of these workers may be lower).

Despite major achievements in the health sector, Kenya still faces many challenges. The life expectancy estimate has dropped to approximately 55 years in 2009 – five years below 1990 levels.[110] The infant mortality rate is high at approximately 44 deaths per 1,000 children in 2012.[111] The WHO estimated in 2011 that only 42% of births were attended by a skilled health professional.[112]

Diseases of poverty directly correlate with a country's economic performance and wealth distribution: Half of Kenyans live below the poverty level. Preventable diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS, pneumonia, diarrhoea and malnutrition are the biggest burden, major child-killers, and responsible for much morbidity; weak policies, corruption, inadequate health workers, weak management and poor leadership in the public health sector are largely to blame. According to 2009 estimates, HIV prevalence is about 6.3% of the adult population.[113] However, the 2011 UNAIDS Report suggests that the HIV epidemic may be improving in Kenya, as HIV prevalence is declining among young people (ages 15–24) and pregnant women.[114] Kenya had an estimated 15 million cases of malaria in 2006.[115]

The total fertility rate in Kenya is estimated to be 4.49 children per woman in 2012.[116] According to a 2008–09 survey by the Kenyan government, the total fertility rate was 4.6% with contraception usage rate among married women was 46%.[117] Maternal mortality is high, partly because of female genital mutilation,[79] with about 27% of women having undergone it.[118] This practice is however on the decline as the country becomes more modernised and the practice was also banned in the country in 2011.[119]

Education[edit]

Main article: Education in Kenya

School children in a classroom.

Independent Kenya's first system of education was introduced by British colonists.[120] After Kenya's independence on 12 December 1963, an authority named the Ominde Commission was formed to introduce changes that would reflect the nation's sovereignty. The commission focused on identity and unity, which were critical issues at the time. Changes in the subject content of history and geography were made to reflect national cohesion. Between 1964 and 1985, the 7–4–2–3 system was adopted – seven years of primary, four years of lower secondary, two years of upper secondary, and three years of university. All schools had a common curriculum.[120]

In 1981, the Presidential Working Party on the Second University was commissioned to look at both the possibilities of setting up a second university in Kenya as well as the reforming of the entire education system.[120] The committee recommended that the 7–4–2–3 system be changed to an 8–4–4 system (eight years in primary, four years in secondary, and four years in university education). The table under Present-day education in Kenya below shows the structure of the 8–4–4 system. Although the 7–4–2–3 system theoretically ended with the introduction of the new 8–4–4 system in 1985, the last batch of students from the former system graduated from Kenyan Universities in 1992.[120]

The current 8–4–4 system was launched in January 1985.[121][122] It put more emphasis on vocational subjects on the assumption that the new structure would enable school drop-outs at all levels either to be self-employed or to secure employment in the informal sector. In January 2003, the Government of Kenya announced the introduction of free primary education. As a result, primary school enrolment increased by about 70%. Secondary and tertiary education enrolment has not increased proportionally because payment is still required for attendance. In 2007 the government issued a statement declaring that from 2008, secondary education would be heavily subsidiszed, with the government footing all tuition fees.

An MSc student at Kenyatta University in Nairobi

Children attend nursery school, or kindergarten in the private sector, until they are five years old. This lasts one to three years (KG1, KG2 and KG3) and is financed privately because there has been no government policy regarding it until recently. There is much celebration and a graduation ceremony at the end of KG3 when the children are ready to join class one in primary school.

Basic formal education starts at age six years and lasts 12 years comprising eight years in primary school and four years in high school or secondary school. Primary school is free in public schools and those who exit at this level can join a vocational youth/village polytechnic or make their own arrangements for an apprenticeship program and learn a trade such as tailoring, carpentry, motor vehicle repair, brick-laying and masonry for about two years. Those who complete high school can join a polytechnic or other technical college and study for three years or proceed directly to the university and study for four years. Graduates from the polytechnics and colleges can then join the workforce and later obtain a specialised higher diploma qualification after a further one to two years of training, or join the university – usually in the second or third year of their respective course. The higher diploma is accepted by many employers in place of a bachelors degree and direct or accelerated admission to post-graduate studies is possible in some universities.

Public universities in Kenya are highly commercialised institutions and only a small fraction of qualified high school graduates are admitted on limited government-sponsorship into programs of their choice. Most are admitted into the social sciences, which are cheap to run, or as self-sponsored students paying the full cost of their studies. Most qualified students who miss-out opt for middle-level diploma programs in public or private universities, colleges and polytechnics.

The country's literacy level stands at 85% of the whole population. Preschool, which targets children from age three to five, is an integral component of the education system and is a key requirement for admission to Standard One (First Grade). At the end of primary education, pupils sit the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), which determines those who proceed to secondary school or vocational training. The result of this examination is needed for placement at secondary school. Primary school age is 6/7-13/14 years. For those who proceed to secondary level, there is a national examination at the end of Form Four – the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), which determines those proceeding to the universities, other professional training or employment. Students sit examinations in eight subjects of their choosing. However, English, Kiswahili (languages) and mathematics are compulsory subjects.

The Joint Admission Board (JAB) is responsible for selecting students joining the public universities. Other than the public schools, there are many private schools in the country, mainly in urban areas. Similarly, there are a number of international schools catering for various overseas educational systems.

Other than the curriculum led learning, there are also National and Public Library Services led by the Kenya National Library Service (knls). knls is the body mandated to establish, equip, manage and maintain national and public libraries in the country. In addition, some of the counties within the country have either established or taken over libraries within their regions. Nairobi County operates four libraries within their network, which included the McMillan Memorial Library located at the central business district of Nairobi. A public library is seen as a peoples university since it is open to all irrespective of age, literacy level and has materials relevant to people of all walks of life.

Culture[edit]

Main article: Culture of Kenya

Kenyan boys and girls performing a traditional dance.

Nation Media House which hosts the Nation Media Group

Kenya is a diverse country and, although tribalism is a major issue in Kenya, tribal stereotypes and regional accents are a great source of amusement all over the country. Addressing someone by their ethnicity is not considered offensive.

Notable peoples include the Swahili on the coast, pastoralist communities in the north, and several different communities in the central and western regions. The Maasai culture is well known to tourism, despite being a minor percentage of the Kenyan population. They are renowned for their elaborate upper body adornment and jewellery.

Kenya has an extensive music, television and theatre scene.

Media[edit]

Further information: Media of Kenya

Kenya has a number of media outlets that broadcast domestically and globally. They cover news, business, sports and entertainment. Popular Kenyan newspapers include:

The Daily Nation (largest market share) part of the Nation Media Group (NMG)

The Standard

The Star

The People

East Africa Weekly

Taifa Leo

Television networks based in Kenya include:

Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC)

Citizen TV

Kenya Television Network (KTN)

NTV (part of the Nation Media Group (NMG))

Kiss television

K24 Television

Q-TV

Kass-TV

All of these terrestrial channels are transmitted via a DVB T2 digital TV signal.

Literature[edit]

Main article: Literature of Kenya

Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is one of the best known writers of Kenya. His book, Weep Not, Child, is an illustration of life in Kenya during the British occupation. This is a story about the effects of the Mau Mau on the lives of Kenyans. Its combination of themes—colonialism, education, and love—helped to make it one of the best-known novels in Africa.

M.G. Vassanji's 2003 novel The In-Between World of Vikram Lall won the Giller Prize in 2003. It is the fictional memoir of a Kenyan of Indian heritage and his family as they adjust to the changing political climates in colonial and post-colonial Kenya.

Additionally, since 2003, the literary journal Kwani? has been publishing Kenyan contemporary literature.

Music[edit]

Main article: Music of Kenya

Popular Kenyan musician Jua Cali.

Kenya has a diverse assortment of popular music forms, in addition to multiple types of folk music based on the variety over 40 regional languages.[123]

The drums are the most dominant instrument in Kenyan popular music. Drum beats are very complex and include both native rhythm and imported ones, especially the Congolese cavacha rhythm. Popular Kenyan music usually involves the interplay of multiple parts, and more recently, showy guitar solos as well. There are also a number of local hip hop artists, including Jua Cali.

Lyrics are most often in Swahili or English. There is also some emerging aspect of Lingala borrowed from Congolese musicians. Lyrics are also written in local languages. Urban radio generally only plays English music, though there also exist a number of vernacular radio stations.

Additionally, Kenya has a growing Christian gospel music scene. Prominent local gospel musicians include the Kenyan Boys Choir.

Benga music has been popular since the late 1960s, especially in the area around Lake Victoria. The word benga is occasionally used to refer to any kind of pop music. Bass, guitar and percussion are the usual instruments.

Sports[edit]

Main article: Sport in Kenya

Kenyan 20, 25 and 30 kilometres world record holder Tegla Loroupe in 2007, at a meet in Schortens, Germany

Kenya is active in several sports, among them cricket, rallying, football, rugby union and boxing. But the country is known chiefly for its dominance in Middle-distance and long-distance athletics. Kenya has consistently produced Olympic and Commonwealth Games champions in various distance events, especially in 800 m, 1,500 m, 3,000 m steeplechase, 5,000 m, 10,000 m and the marathon. Kenyan athletes (particularly Kalenjin) continue to dominate the world of distance running, although competition from Morocco and Ethiopia has reduced this supremacy. Kenya's best-known athletes included the four-time women's Boston Marathon winner and two-time world champion Catherine Ndereba, former Marathon world record-holder Paul Tergat, and John Ngugi.

Kenya won several medals during the Beijing Olympics, six gold, four silver and four bronze, making it Africa's most successful nation in the 2008 Olympics. New athletes gained attention, such as Pamela Jelimo, the women's 800m gold medalist who went ahead to win the IAAF Golden League jackpot, and Samuel Wanjiru who won the men's marathon. Retired Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion Kipchoge Keino helped usher in Kenya's ongoing distance dynasty in the 1970s and was followed by Commonwealth Champion Henry Rono's spectacular string of world record performances. Lately, there has been controversy in Kenyan athletics circles, with the defection of a number of Kenyan athletes to represent other countries, chiefly Bahrain and Qatar.[124] The Kenyan Ministry of Sports has tried to stop the defections, but they have continued anyway, with Bernard Lagat the latest, choosing to represent the United States.[124] Most of these defections occur because of economic or financial factors. Some elite Kenyan runners who cannot qualify for their country's strong national team find it easier to qualify by running for other countries.[citation needed]

Kenyan Olympic and world record holder in the 800 meters, David Rudisha

Kenya has been a dominant force in women's volleyball within Africa, with both the clubs and the national team winning various continental championships in the past decade.[citation needed] The women's team has competed at the Olympics and World Championships but without any notable success. Cricket is another popular and the most successful team sport. Kenya has competed in the Cricket World Cup since 1996. They upset some of the World's best teams and reached semi-finals of the 2003 tournament. They won the inaugural World Cricket League Division 1 hosted in Nairobi and participated in the World T20. Their current captain is Collins Obuya. They participated in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Kenya is represented by Lucas Onyango as a professional rugby league player who plays with Oldham Roughyeds. Besides the former European Super League team, he has played for Widnes Vikings and rugby union with Sale Sharks.[125] Rugby union is increasing in popularity, especially with the annual Safari Sevens tournament. Kenya sevens team ranked 9th in IRB Sevens World Series for the 2006 season. Kenya was also a regional powerhouse in soccer. However, its dominance has been eroded by wrangles within the Kenya Football Federation.[126] This has led to a suspension by FIFA which was lifted in March 2007.

In the motor rallying arena, Kenya is home to the world famous Safari Rally, commonly acknowledged as one of the toughest rallies in the world.[127] It was a part of the World Rally Championship for many years until its exclusion after the 2002 event owing to financial difficulties. Some of the best rally drivers in the world have taken part in and won the rally, such as Björn Waldegård, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi Mäkinen, Shekhar Mehta, Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae. Although the rally still runs annually as part of the Africa rally championship, the organisers are hoping to be allowed to rejoin the World Rally championship in the next couple of years.

Cuisine[edit]

Ugali and sukuma wiki, staples of Kenyan cuisine.

Kenyans generally have three meals in a day – breakfast in the morning (kiamsha kinywa), lunch in the after noon (chakula cha mchana) and supper in the evening (chakula cha jioni). In between, they have the 10 o'clock tea (chai ya saa nne) and 4 pm tea (chai ya saa kumi). Breakfast is usually tea or porridge with bread, chapati, mahamri, boiled sweet potatoes or yams. Ugali with vegetables, sour milk, meat, fish or any other stew is generally eaten by much of the population for lunch or supper. Regional variations and dishes also exist.

In western Kenya, among the Luo and Kalenjin, lye is a common ingredient in most traditional foods and mursik – a traditional milk drink. It is not yet known whether lye is responsible for the high prevalence of throat cancer in these region.

In cities such as Nairobi, there are fast food restaurants, which include Steers, KFC,[128] and Subway.[129] There are also many popular fish and chips delis that are usually packed during lunch time. (Continoe)

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