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'''Kenya''', a former British colony in East Africa is famous for its majestic wildlife. The Republic of Kenya with a growing population of 38 million, shares borders with [[Ethiopia]], [[Somalia]], [[Tanzania]], [[Uganda]] and [[Sudan]]. Its coastline borders the [[Indian Ocean]]. Peace had prevailed since an uprising in the former British colony in the 1950s. A political crisis exploded into violence in early 2008, with a resolution finally reached in mid-April. Kenya faces herculean challenges, as the poor nation must deal with a fast-growing population, exploding slums and diminishing available land. During the crisis Kenya's infrastructure suffered severe damage with countless houses, shops, businesses, factories and schools burned out, and the lucrative safari tourist business almost shut down. The crisis ignited long-standing ethnic grievances, which violently split the nation along ethnic lines.<ref>Jeffrey Gettleman, "Unity Cabinet Formed in Kenya, Ending Deadlock," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/world/africa/14kenya.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin  ''New York Times'' April 14, 2008]</ref>

'''Kenya''', a former British colony in East Africa is famous for its majestic wildlife. The Republic of Kenya with a growing population of 38 million, shares borders with [[Ethiopia]], [[Somalia]], [[Tanzania]], [[Uganda]] and [[Sudan]]. Its coastline borders the [[Indian Ocean]]. Peace had prevailed since an uprising in the former British colony in the 1950s. A political crisis exploded into violence in early 2008, with a resolution finally reached in mid-April. Kenya faces herculean challenges, as the poor nation must deal with a fast-growing population, exploding slums and diminishing available land. During the crisis Kenya's infrastructure suffered severe damage with countless houses, shops, businesses, factories and schools burned out, and the lucrative safari tourist business almost shut down. The crisis ignited long-standing ethnic grievances, which violently split the nation along ethnic lines.<ref>Jeffrey Gettleman, "Unity Cabinet Formed in Kenya, Ending Deadlock," [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/world/africa/14kenya.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin  ''New York Times'' April 14, 2008]</ref>

In 2009 a devastating drought swept across Kenya, killing livestock, crops and children. Fights over water erupted in city slums, while in the rural areas bitter ethnic tensions escalated as communities fought over the last remaining pieces of fertile grazing land.  

In 2009 a devastating drought swept across Kenya, killing livestock, crops and children. Fights over water erupted in city slums, while in the rural areas bitter ethnic tensions escalated as communities fought over the last remaining pieces of fertile grazing land.  

The basics of Kenya’s economy, agriculture and tourism, are especially imperiled.<ref>Jeffrey Gettleman, "Lush Land Dries Up, Withering Kenya’s Hopes," [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/world/africa/08kenya.html?th&emc=th ''New York Times'' Sept. 7, 2009]</ref>  

The basics of Kenya’s economy, agriculture and tourism, are especially imperiled.<ref>Jeffrey Gettleman, "Lush Land Dries Up, Withering Kenya’s Hopes," [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/world/africa/08kenya.html?th&emc=th ''New York Times'' Sept. 7, 2009]</ref>  

==Geography==

==Geography==

==2008 political crisis==

==2008 political crisis==

Kenya is a Presidential Representative Republic, where the President acts both as head of State and head of Government. Executive power is wielded by the government. Legislative power is shared between the government and the National Assembly. The Judiciary acts independently of both legislative and executive organs of government. The position of prime minister, to be held by opposition leader Raila Odinga, was created in Feb. 2008 as part of a compromise brokered by former UN head Kofi Annan to end the election crisis.  The exact powers of the new position are unclear.<ref>"Odinga pledges to rebuild Kenya" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7270379.stm BBC News, Feb. 29, 2008]</ref>  After six weeks of tense negotiations a cabinet was announced on April 14, with 94 members, including Odinga as prime minister.<ref>Jeffrey Gettleman, "Unity Cabinet Formed in Kenya, Ending Deadlock," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/world/africa/14kenya.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin  ''New York Times'' Ap. 14, 2008]</ref>

Kenya is a Presidential Representative Republic, where the President acts both as head of State and head of Government. Executive power is wielded by the government. Legislative power is shared between the government and the National Assembly. The Judiciary acts independently of both legislative and executive organs of government. The position of prime minister, to be held by opposition leader Raila Odinga, was created in Feb. 2008 as part of a compromise brokered by former UN head Kofi Annan to end the election crisis.  The exact powers of the new position are unclear.<ref>"Odinga pledges to rebuild Kenya" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7270379.stm BBC News, Feb. 29, 2008]</ref>  After six weeks of tense negotiations a cabinet was announced on April 14, with 94 members, including Odinga as prime minister.<ref>Jeffrey Gettleman, "Unity Cabinet Formed in Kenya, Ending Deadlock," [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/world/africa/14kenya.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin  ''New York Times'' Ap. 14, 2008]</ref>

The constitution dates from the year of its independence (1963). The unicameral legislature consists of 222 members, with 210 directly elected. The remaining twelve are appointed by the President. The legal system is influenced by English, tribal and Islamic law. The country is subdivided into seven provinces and area surrounding the capital, [[Nairobi]].

The constitution dates from the year of its independence (1963). The unicameral legislature consists of 222 members, with 210 directly elected. The remaining twelve are appointed by the President. The legal system is influenced by English, tribal and Islamic law. The country is subdivided into seven provinces and area surrounding the capital, [[Nairobi]].

Kenya has had a relatively stable political history since independence (omitting recent political unrest and rioting). It escaped much of the internal tribal warfare and civil war which crippled neighbouring nations such as Ethiopia, Uganda and Somalia. It held elections in December 2002 which were deemed free and fair by international observers. Kenya has until recently been used as an example of a recovering African nation free of many of the domestic problems which beset many of her neighbouring states. The 2002 election heralded a peaceful transfer of power from the [[Kenya African Union]] to the [[National Rainbow Coalition]].

Kenya has had a relatively stable political history since independence (omitting recent political unrest and rioting). It escaped much of the internal tribal warfare and civil war which crippled neighbouring nations such as Ethiopia, Uganda and Somalia. It held elections in December 2002 which were deemed free and fair by international observers. Kenya has until recently been used as an example of a recovering African nation free of many of the domestic problems which beset many of her neighbouring states. The 2002 election heralded a peaceful transfer of power from the [[Kenya African Union]] to the [[National Rainbow Coalition]].

Kenya exploded into violence following a disputed election in December 2007 in which the government proclaimed incumbent president Mwai Kibaki had defeated Raila Odinga, leader of the Orange Democratic Movement, by 4.58m votes to 4.35m.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10415208 See ''The Economist'' Dec 30, 2007 at]</ref> Wide civil strife displaced over 600,000 people.  This is an ethnic conflict with the Kikuyus taking the brunt of the attacks. They have controlled the government and most business since 1963 while comprising 22% of the population.<ref>Jeffrey Gettleman, "Kenya Kikuyus, Long Dominant, Are Now Routed," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/world/africa/07kenya.html?ref=world ''New York Times'' Jan. 7, 2008]</ref>  The philosophy of "majimboism," which initially meant minority rights, has transformed into local policies of expelling other groups. Thousands have died in ethnic cleansing, and the UN estimates over 600,000 people have been uprooted. About half have gone to camps in churches, police stations, stables and prisons; conditions are poor. The growing ethnic segregation is pulling students and teachers out of schools and leaving thousands of jobs vacant across the economy.<ref>The official death estimate is 1,000, based on deaths in hospitals; journalists report the actual toll is far higher. Jeffrey Gettleman, "Signs in Kenya of a Land Redrawn by Ethnicity," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/world/africa/15kenya.html?ref=africa ''New York Times'' Feb. 15, 2008]</ref>

Kenya exploded into violence following a disputed election in December 2007 in which the government proclaimed incumbent president Mwai Kibaki had defeated Raila Odinga, leader of the Orange Democratic Movement, by 4.58m votes to 4.35m.<ref>[https://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10415208 See ''The Economist'' Dec 30, 2007 at]</ref> Wide civil strife displaced over 600,000 people.  This is an ethnic conflict with the Kikuyus taking the brunt of the attacks. They have controlled the government and most business since 1963 while comprising 22% of the population.<ref>Jeffrey Gettleman, "Kenya Kikuyus, Long Dominant, Are Now Routed," [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/world/africa/07kenya.html?ref=world ''New York Times'' Jan. 7, 2008]</ref>  The philosophy of "majimboism," which initially meant minority rights, has transformed into local policies of expelling other groups. Thousands have died in ethnic cleansing, and the UN estimates over 600,000 people have been uprooted. About half have gone to camps in churches, police stations, stables and prisons; conditions are poor. The growing ethnic segregation is pulling students and teachers out of schools and leaving thousands of jobs vacant across the economy.<ref>The official death estimate is 1,000, based on deaths in hospitals; journalists report the actual toll is far higher. Jeffrey Gettleman, "Signs in Kenya of a Land Redrawn by Ethnicity," [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/world/africa/15kenya.html?ref=africa ''New York Times'' Feb. 15, 2008]</ref>

==Government==

==Government==

The leading center is the University of Nairobi, with 200 programs in six colleges on seven campuses. Founded in 1956 as the Royal Technical College, it had links with the University of London, and took its present name in 1970, when it had 2700 students. By 1992 it had about 14,000 students, mostly Kenyans. By 2004 it enrolled 29,000 undergraduates, and 7,000 graduate students. There are 4,000 staff members, and 90,000 alumni.<ref>See [http://www.uonbi.ac.ke/] and [http://www.uonbi.ac.ke/management/downloads/Info_Booklet.pdf]</ref>   

The leading center is the University of Nairobi, with 200 programs in six colleges on seven campuses. Founded in 1956 as the Royal Technical College, it had links with the University of London, and took its present name in 1970, when it had 2700 students. By 1992 it had about 14,000 students, mostly Kenyans. By 2004 it enrolled 29,000 undergraduates, and 7,000 graduate students. There are 4,000 staff members, and 90,000 alumni.<ref>See [http://www.uonbi.ac.ke/] and [http://www.uonbi.ac.ke/management/downloads/Info_Booklet.pdf]</ref>   

Many Kenyans continue their formal education at universities; scholarships enable some to study abroad; especially in the United States and commonwealth nations. A notable example is Barack Obama, Sr. (1936-1982), born  of Luo ethnicity in a village in Nyanza Province, who became a graduate student at the University of Hawaii. In 1960 he married an American graduate student, Ann Dunham. Their only child was [[Barack Obama|Barack Hussein Obama Jr.]], the president of the United States. Obama Sr. deserted his family in Hawaii, studied economics at Harvard and returned to Kenya as a senior civil servant. Frustrated as a Luo by the Kikuyu dominance, he became an alcoholic and died in 1982. "His ideas about how Kenya should progress often put him at odds with the politics of tribe and patronage," his son said in a 2006 speech in Nairobi, "and because he spoke his mind, sometimes to a fault, he ended up being fired from his job and prevented from finding work in the country for many, many years."  The son visited the village, where his grandmother still lives.<ref>Kevin Merida, "The Ghost of a Father," ''Washington Post'' December 14, 2007 online at [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/12/13/ST2007121301893.html]</ref>

Many Kenyans continue their formal education at universities; scholarships enable some to study abroad; especially in the United States and commonwealth nations. A notable example is Barack Obama, Sr. (1936-1982), born  of Luo ethnicity in a village in Nyanza Province, who became a graduate student at the University of Hawaii. In 1960 he married an American graduate student, Ann Dunham. Their only child was [[Barack Obama|Barack Hussein Obama Jr.]], the president of the United States. Obama Sr. deserted his family in Hawaii, studied economics at Harvard and returned to Kenya as a senior civil servant. Frustrated as a Luo by the Kikuyu dominance, he became an alcoholic and died in 1982. "His ideas about how Kenya should progress often put him at odds with the politics of tribe and patronage," his son said in a 2006 speech in Nairobi, "and because he spoke his mind, sometimes to a fault, he ended up being fired from his job and prevented from finding work in the country for many, many years."  The son visited the village, where his grandmother still lives.<ref>Kevin Merida, "The Ghost of a Father," ''Washington Post'' December 14, 2007 online at [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/12/13/ST2007121301893.html]</ref>

The recent period since 1980 has been marked by a major reduction in funding for schools and a drop in attendance at the primary level.

The recent period since 1980 has been marked by a major reduction in funding for schools and a drop in attendance at the primary level.

At a conference held in 1960 in London, agreement was reached between the African members and the English settlers of the New Kenya Group, led by Michael Blundell. However many whites rejected the New Kenya Group and condemned the London agreement, because it move away from racial quotas and toward independence. Following the agreement a new African party, the Kenya African National Union (KANU), with the slogan "Uhuru," or "Freedom," was formed under the leadership of Kikuyu leader James S. Gichuru and labor leader Tom Mboya.  Mboya was a major figure from 1951 until his death in 1969. He was praised as nonethnic or antitribal, and attacked as an instrument of Western capitalism. Mboya as General Secretary of the Kenya Federation of Labor and a leader in the Kenya African National Union before and after independence skillfully managed the tribal factor in Kenyan economic and political life to succeed as a Luo in a predominantly Kikuyu movement.<ref>David Goldsworthy, "Ethnicity and Leadership in Africa: the 'Untypical' Case of Tom Mboya." ''Journal of Modern African Studies'' 1982 20(1): 107-126. Issn: 0022-278x Fulltext: [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-278X(198203)20%3A1%3C107%3AEALIAT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-2 in Jstor]</ref> A split in KANU produced the breakaway rival party, the Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU), led by R. Ngala and M. Muliro. In the elections of February 1961, KANU won 18 of the 33 African seats while KADU won 11. (Twenty seats were reserved by quota for Europeans, Asians, and Arabs.) Kenyatta was finally released in August and became president of KANU in October.

At a conference held in 1960 in London, agreement was reached between the African members and the English settlers of the New Kenya Group, led by Michael Blundell. However many whites rejected the New Kenya Group and condemned the London agreement, because it move away from racial quotas and toward independence. Following the agreement a new African party, the Kenya African National Union (KANU), with the slogan "Uhuru," or "Freedom," was formed under the leadership of Kikuyu leader James S. Gichuru and labor leader Tom Mboya.  Mboya was a major figure from 1951 until his death in 1969. He was praised as nonethnic or antitribal, and attacked as an instrument of Western capitalism. Mboya as General Secretary of the Kenya Federation of Labor and a leader in the Kenya African National Union before and after independence skillfully managed the tribal factor in Kenyan economic and political life to succeed as a Luo in a predominantly Kikuyu movement.<ref>David Goldsworthy, "Ethnicity and Leadership in Africa: the 'Untypical' Case of Tom Mboya." ''Journal of Modern African Studies'' 1982 20(1): 107-126. Issn: 0022-278x Fulltext: [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-278X(198203)20%3A1%3C107%3AEALIAT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-2 in Jstor]</ref> A split in KANU produced the breakaway rival party, the Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU), led by R. Ngala and M. Muliro. In the elections of February 1961, KANU won 18 of the 33 African seats while KADU won 11. (Twenty seats were reserved by quota for Europeans, Asians, and Arabs.) Kenyatta was finally released in August and became president of KANU in October.

In 1959, nationalist leader Tom Mboya began a program, funded by Americans, of sending talented youth to the United States for higher education. There was no university in Kenya at the time, but colonial officials opposed the program anyway. In 1959 [[Barack Obama Sr.]] arrived in Hawaii in the first wave. The next year Senator [[John F. Kennedy]] helped fund the program, which trained some 70% of the top leaders of the new nation, including the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, environmentalist Wangari Maathai.<ref>Michael Dobbs, "Obama Overstates Kennedys' Role in Helping His Father," [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/29/AR2008032902031.html?hpid=topnews ''Washington Post'' Mar. 30, 2008]</ref>

In 1959, nationalist leader Tom Mboya began a program, funded by Americans, of sending talented youth to the United States for higher education. There was no university in Kenya at the time, but colonial officials opposed the program anyway. In 1959 [[Barack Obama Sr.]] arrived in Hawaii in the first wave. The next year Senator [[John F. Kennedy]] helped fund the program, which trained some 70% of the top leaders of the new nation, including the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, environmentalist Wangari Maathai.<ref>Michael Dobbs, "Obama Overstates Kennedys' Role in Helping His Father," [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/29/AR2008032902031.html?hpid=topnews ''Washington Post'' Mar. 30, 2008]</ref>

===Independence===

===Independence===

In the December 2007 elections, Odinga, the candidate of the ODM, attacked the failures of the Kibaki regime. The ODM charged the Kikuyu have grabbed everything and all the other tribes have lost; that Kibaki had betrayed his promises for change; that crime and violence were out of control, and that economic growth was not bringing any benefits to the ordinary citizen. In the December 2007 elections the ODM won a landslide for Parliament, but the counting for president was rigged by the government which proclaimed Kibaki had been reelected.

In the December 2007 elections, Odinga, the candidate of the ODM, attacked the failures of the Kibaki regime. The ODM charged the Kikuyu have grabbed everything and all the other tribes have lost; that Kibaki had betrayed his promises for change; that crime and violence were out of control, and that economic growth was not bringing any benefits to the ordinary citizen. In the December 2007 elections the ODM won a landslide for Parliament, but the counting for president was rigged by the government which proclaimed Kibaki had been reelected.

"Majimboism" was a philosophy that emerged in the 1950s, meaning federalism or regionalism in Kiswahili, and it was intended to protect local rights, especially regarding land ownership. Today "majimboism" is code for certain areas of the country to be reserved for specific ethnic groups, fueling the kind of ethnic cleansing that has swept the country since the election. Majimboism has always had a strong following in the Rift Valley, the epicenter of the recent violence, where many locals have long believed that their land was stolen by outsiders. The December 2007 was in part a referendum on majimboism. It pitted today’s majimboists, represented by Odinga, who campaigned for regionalism, against Kibaki, who stood for the status quo of a highly centralized government that has delivered considerable economic growth but has repeatedly displayed the problems of too much power concentrated in too few hands — corruption, aloofness, favoritism and its flip side, marginalization. In the town of Londiani in the Rift Valley, Kikuyu traders settled decades ago. In February, 2008, hundreds of Kalenjin raiders poured down from the nearby scruffy hills and burned a Kikuyu school. Kikuyus quickly took revenge, organizing into gangs armed with iron bars and table legs and hunting down Luos and Kalenjins in Kikuyu-dominated areas like Nakuru. "We are achieving our own perverse version of majimboism," wrote one of Kenya’s leading columnists, Macharia Gaitho.<ref>Jeffrey Gettleman, "Signs in Kenya of a Land Redrawn by Ethnicity," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/world/africa/15kenya.html?ref=africa ''New York Times'' Feb. 15, 2008]</ref>

"Majimboism" was a philosophy that emerged in the 1950s, meaning federalism or regionalism in Kiswahili, and it was intended to protect local rights, especially regarding land ownership. Today "majimboism" is code for certain areas of the country to be reserved for specific ethnic groups, fueling the kind of ethnic cleansing that has swept the country since the election. Majimboism has always had a strong following in the Rift Valley, the epicenter of the recent violence, where many locals have long believed that their land was stolen by outsiders. The December 2007 was in part a referendum on majimboism. It pitted today’s majimboists, represented by Odinga, who campaigned for regionalism, against Kibaki, who stood for the status quo of a highly centralized government that has delivered considerable economic growth but has repeatedly displayed the problems of too much power concentrated in too few hands — corruption, aloofness, favoritism and its flip side, marginalization. In the town of Londiani in the Rift Valley, Kikuyu traders settled decades ago. In February, 2008, hundreds of Kalenjin raiders poured down from the nearby scruffy hills and burned a Kikuyu school. Kikuyus quickly took revenge, organizing into gangs armed with iron bars and table legs and hunting down Luos and Kalenjins in Kikuyu-dominated areas like Nakuru. "We are achieving our own perverse version of majimboism," wrote one of Kenya’s leading columnists, Macharia Gaitho.<ref>Jeffrey Gettleman, "Signs in Kenya of a Land Redrawn by Ethnicity," [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/world/africa/15kenya.html?ref=africa ''New York Times'' Feb. 15, 2008]</ref>

2013 [[Uhuru Kenyatta]] was elected as president.

2013 [[Uhuru Kenyatta]] was elected as president.

* Bravman, Bill.  ''Making Ethnic Ways: Communities and Their Transformations in Taita, Kenya, 1800-1950.'' James Currey, 1998. 283 pp.   

* Bravman, Bill.  ''Making Ethnic Ways: Communities and Their Transformations in Taita, Kenya, 1800-1950.'' James Currey, 1998. 283 pp.   

*  Collier, Paul and Lal, Deepak.  ''Labour and Poverty in Kenya, 1900-1980.'' Oxford U. Press, 1986. 296 pp.   

*  Collier, Paul and Lal, Deepak.  ''Labour and Poverty in Kenya, 1900-1980.'' Oxford U. Press, 1986. 296 pp.   

* Eliot, Charles. ''The East Africa Protectorate'' (1905), by the well-informed former governor; [http://books.google.com/books?id=LBIUAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:east+intitle:africa&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1&ei=1hGAR5CSI4LusgP04aW_Cw#PPR5,M1 full text online]

* Eliot, Charles. ''The East Africa Protectorate'' (1905), by the well-informed former governor; [https://books.google.com/books?id=LBIUAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:east+intitle:africa&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1&ei=1hGAR5CSI4LusgP04aW_Cw#PPR5,M1 full text online]

* Elkins, Caroline.  ''Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya.'' Holt, 2005. 496 pp.  

* Elkins, Caroline.  ''Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya.'' Holt, 2005. 496 pp.  

* Gatheru, R. Mugo.  ''Kenya: From Colonization to Independence, 1888-1970.'' McFarland, 2005. 236 pp.   

* Gatheru, R. Mugo.  ''Kenya: From Colonization to Independence, 1888-1970.'' McFarland, 2005. 236 pp.