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Kenya

 Flag of Kenya

Last reviewed: 21 April 2009

Country information

Map of The Republic of Kenya

KENYA TODAY

Country Facts

Area: 580,370 sq km (224,081 sq miles)
Population: 38.6 million (2008 est, UNPOP)
Capital city: Nairobi
People (approx): Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 15%, Luo 12%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, Maasai/Samburu 2%
Language(s): English, Kiswahili, various indigenous languages
Religion(s): Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, Muslim 12%, indigenous beliefs 10%,
Currency: Kenyan shilling (KSH) £1=118  KSh (April 2009)
President: Emilio Mwai Kibaki (sworn in 30th December December 2007)
Vice President (and Minister for Home Affairs): Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka
Prime Minister: Raila Odinga (sworn-in 17 April 2008)
Deputy Prime Minister (and Finance Minister): Uhuru Kenyatta
Deputy Prime Minister (and Minister for Local Government): Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi
Foreign Minister: Moses Wetangula

Major Political parties: Kibaki heads Party of National Unity (PNU): including National Rainbow Coalition-Kenya (Narc-K), Democratic Party (DP), Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-Kenya (Ford-Kenya), Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-People (Ford-People), New Ford-Kenya, Kenyan African National Union (KANU), Shirikisho, Safina, and other smaller parties. Raila Odinga heads the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), and Kalonzo Musyoka heads the smaller Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya (ODM-K).
Membership of international groupings/organisations: UN, Commonwealth, African Union, WTO, East African Community (EAC), Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

HEALTH

Health requirements - Fit For Travel  

ECONOMY

Basic Economic Facts

GDP: US$27.3 bn (2007); GDP per capita: US$680 (est 2007 World Bank Development Indicators)
Annual growth:  2.5 % (estimate 2008)
Inflation: 26.3 % (March 2008 Economist Intelligence Unit)
Exchange Rate: KSh 118 = £1 sterling (April 2009)
Major Industries: Small scale consumer goods, agricultural products, processing, and tourism.
Major trading partners: Africa (46.2%) mainly Uganda and Tanzania, European Union (28.5%), UK the leading partner, the Far East tops the EU for imports.

The Kenyan economy remains dependant on agriculture and periodic drought often threatens GDP growth.  Farming and livestock are important activities, accounting (with forestry and fishing) for 23.9% of GDP and about half of total exports in 2007.  Horticultural produce and tea are Kenya’s two single most valuable exports, accounting for 18.8% and 15.5% respectively of total sales in 2007. 

The post-election violence in the first quarter of 2008 hit the Kenyan economy hard. The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (representing most major businesses) estimated that 400,000 jobs were lost and economic growth was expected to slow to 4%. The tourism industry, which is a major source of foreign exchange, was severely damaged. The agriculture sector was also been heavily affected, which will have long term effects on Kenya's economy.

IMF Country Reports - Kenya

HISTORY

Kenya became a British protectorate in 1895 and a colony in 1920. White settlement was encouraged and by the 1940s European settlers had achieved considerable prosperity. African population growth resulted in increasing pressure for land. Jomo Kenyatta formed the first national organisation in 1944. But when the Mau Mau rebellion erupted in 1952, a state of emergency was declared, parties were banned and Kenyatta was tried and sent to prison. African members were elected to the legislative council in 1957 and the state of emergency was lifted in 1960. Political parties were legalised and Africans formed a majority on the legislative council. Two parties emerged: the Kenya Africa National Union (KANU) and the Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU). KANU won a general election in 1961 but refused to form an administration until the release of Kenyatta.

At independence in 1963, Kenyatta became Prime Minister. The following year KADU dissolved itself and Kenya became a republic with Kenyatta as its first President. A new opposition party was banned in 1969 and Kenya remained a de facto 1-party state for the remainder of Kenyatta’s rule. On his death in 1978 Daniel arap Moi became President and later turned Kenya into a de jure 1-party state.

In 1991, under pressure from Kenyan activists and the international community, this was reversed. With multi-partyism restored, several opposition parties emerged: FORD Kenya, FORD Asili, Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, National Development Party of Kenya and other smaller parties. However, KANU retained control, winning contentious elections in 1992 and 1997 against a divided opposition and amidst allegations of election abuse. The Kenyan political environment remained turbulent throughout the 1990s.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The new East African Community (EAC) was formally launched in January 2001. It has a parliament, the East African Legislative Assembly, and a secretariat in Arusha (Tanzania). A Customs Union protocol, signed in 2004, came into effect on 1 January 2005. As a member of IGAD (comprising Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan), Kenya has played a key mediation role in the Sudan and Somali peace talks.

East African Community

Intergovernmental Authority on Development

Terrorist groups, believed to be part of the Al Qaeda network, have targeted western interests in Kenya and pose a continuing threat. There have been 3 major terrorist attacks: the August 1998 bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi, in which 232 people were killed; a suicide car bomb attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in November 2002, in which 15 people were killed, and an unsuccessful attempt to shoot down an Israeli charter plane the same day. The UK is supporting Kenyan counter-terrorism efforts through an assistance programme.

Kenya's relations with the UK

Visits

The UK and Kenya enjoy a close relationship and frequent contacts. The main recent ones were:

Visits to Kenya by Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development (March 2009); Lord West, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Security and Counter-terrorism), (December 2008); Bob Ainsworth, Minister for the Armed Forces (October 2008); and Lord Malloch-Brown, Minister of State for Africa (January and November 2008);

Visits to the UK by Prime Minister Raila Odinga (March 2009 for a pre-G20 meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and African Leaders, and July 2008); and President Mwai Kibaki (October 2005).

Cultural Relations

The British Council is the focal point for cultural relations between Britain and Kenya.

British Council, Kenya

Policy

For recent statements of UK Government policy towards Kenya see the Hansard, and enter Kenya in the search engine.

GEOGRAPHY

Kenya lies in east Africa, and is bordered by Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and the Indian Ocean. Kenya has a climate ranging from tropical to temperate largely depending on the altitude.

TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Trade and Investment

The UK remains the largest foreign investor, with investments estimated to be worth $1.5 billion. Significant British investors include Barclays Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Glaxo Smithkline, ACTIS (formerly CDC Capital Partners), De La Rue and Unilever. Britain is a major trading partner.  In 2007 exports of goods from UK to Kenya were valued at £216 million.  UK imports of goods from Kenya were worth £255 million in 2007.   Growth between 2003 - 2007 was 25.6% for exports and 17.6% for imports.

UK Trade & Investment Country Profile: Kenya

Development

The Department for International Development (DFID) works with Kenya in a number of ways, including reducing poverty, tackling corruption, strengthening government accountability and funding work on HIV and Aids as well as education projects. For more information on what DFID are doing in Kenya, please visit their website.

DFID - Country Profiles, Africa, Kenya

United Nations Development Programme

World Bank

POLITICS

President Moi stepped down in 2002, as required by the 1991 constitution. Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Jomo, Kenya's first President, secured the leadership of KANU and stood for the Presidency, but a group of MPs broke with KANU to form the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). For the first time, all the opposition parties united under the banner of the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) and behind a single presidential candidate. President Kibaki's general election victory on 27 December 2002 ended nearly 40 years of KANU rule. The elections were the cleanest and most peaceful in Kenya's history and were followed by a smooth transfer of power to NARC. President Kibaki secured 62% of the popular vote and NARC won 132 seats in the unicameral parliament of 222 seats.

But the first years of NARC's rule proved difficult due to the fracturing of the NARC coalition, especially over completion of the constitutional review process started under Moi. A lengthy public consultation process produced a new draft constitution (known as the Bomas draft) in March 2004. But its provisions, notably those reducing the executive powers of the Presidency, proved unacceptable to the government. After a protracted legal wrangle the government secured Parliamentary approval for certain key amendments to be made and a new Constitution Bill was published. However, the new draft was rejected by 58% of voters when it was put to a referendum in November 2005. This prompted Kibaki to sack his entire government and start with a new team which excluded all those Ministers who voted against the draft. Those who voted against the draft  formed a new political party, ODM-Kenya. Progress in tackling corruption has also been disappointing. Corruption re-emerged as a major public concern in mid-2004 and represents a major threat to achieving social and economic reform. Three senior ministers were prevailed upon to stand aside, following their implication in grand corruption in February 2006 but two  were re-appointed.

In the run-up to the December 2007 general election, the 2 main parties reformed into large coalitions. In August 2007, Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya – formed after the November 2005 referendum - split into the larger Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) led by Raila Odinga, and the smaller Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya, led by Kalonzo Musyoka. In September the ruling party NARC-Kenya became the Party of National Unity. The election proved to be the closest – and most bitterly - fought in the multi-party era. Initial reports were that the 28 December poll was largely free and fair. The ODM coalition took the largest number of Parliamentary seats, and official exit polls pointed to a win by the opposition Presidential candidate Raila Odinga (ODM). But a delay in announcing the Presidential contest raised doubts about the overall conduct of the election. Despite growing concerns, on 30 December 2007 the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) announced that the incumbent Mwai Kibaki had won the Presidential race by a margin of 231,728 votes.

The opposition candidate Raila Odinga rejected the result outright. The Chair of the ECK, Samuel Kivuitu has since stated that he made the announcement of Kibaki’s win ‘under duress’. The European Union Election Observer Mission noted that the presidential elections lack credibility, and fell short of international standards. Kibaki’s re-election was met with serious communal violence – especially between rival ethnic groups - and a strong response by government security forces; over 1,100 people have been reported killed, and an estimated 600,000 people displaced. Kofi Annan was asked by the African Union to lead a panel of Eminent African Personalities to help negotiate a power-sharing deal between Odinga and Kibaki. An agreement was signed on 28 February 2008, which was welcomed by the international community. On 17 April a 42 -strong Grand Coalition Cabinet with Raila Odinga as Prime Minister was sworn-in.  The Kofi Annan mediation process recommended that a number of reforms be undertaken to prevent contentious elections in the future and to deal with the underlying reasons behind the post-election violence.  Despite some early progress with the establishment of independent commissions that investigated the election process and the post-election violence,  there is concern about the pace of reform.

BBC News Country Profile: Kenya
BBC News: Africa

HUMAN RIGHTS

The report of the independent Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence (CIPEV), published on 15 October 2008, detailed violence that was both spontaneous and planned against individuals targeted because of their ethnicity and/or political beliefs.  The Kenyan police were heavily criticised for failing to anticipate, prepare for, or contain the violence and for using excessive force to suppress demonstrations.  The Commission stated that individual members of the Kenyan police had committed serious human rights violations.The report of the UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston on extrajudicial killings, published in February 2009,  provided further evidence of the necessity for urgent reform of Kenya’s justice and security architecture. The full report is expected in June 2009.

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Useful Links



Contacts

Kenya

Address:

Kenya High Commission
45 Portland Place
London W1B 1AS



Agriculture and Commercial Offices
25 Brooks Mews
Off Davies Street
London W1

 

Telephone:

(020) 7636 2371
(020) 7355 3146 (Agriculture and Commercial)
(020) 7355 3145 (Commercial)

Fax:

(020) 7323 6717
(020) 7495 8656 (Agriculture)
(020) 7355 3144 (Commercial)

Email: kcomm45@aol.com

Office hours:

Mon-Fri: 0900-1300 and 1400-1700
Mon-Fri: 0930-1200 and 1400-1530 (Visa)

 

 

Website: http://www.kenyahighcommission.net