Kenya is a country located in East Africa, bordered by Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Uganda. According to homosociety, it has a population of over 51 million people and an area of 583 thousand square kilometers. The capital city is Nairobi while other major cities include Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru. The official language is Swahili but many other languages such as English and Somali are also spoken. The currency used in Kenya is the Kenyan Shilling (KES) which is pegged to the US Dollar at a rate of 1 KES: 0.0096 USD. Kenya has a rich culture with influences from both African and Arab cultures, from traditional music such as Benga to unique art forms like Maasai beadwork. It also boasts stunning natural landscapes such as Tsavo National Park and Lake Nakuru National Park which are home to an abundance of wildlife species.
A report by the British aid organization Oxfam from March 2006 will take the countries of the Horn of Africa – especially Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia – affected by drought up to 15 years to recover if they do not receive emergency relief immediately. In some areas the nomads have lost up to 95% of their cattle. About 400,000 are already receiving relief from international organizations. See AbbreviationFinder for geography, history, society, politics, and economy of Kenya.
In May, the government canceled an agreement to buy 50% of Shell Petroleum’s activities in the country. It was the first time since Kibaki came to power that the Monopoly and Price Control Board came into character to prevent the takeover of an oil company. Acc. observers helped prevent Shell from dominating the country’s oil industry.
In June 2007, the president launched a campaign to save Victoria Lake, which is plagued by pollution and overfishing. Kibaki will campaign to secure the living conditions of the 30 million. people living along the shores of the lake.
On December 27, presidential elections were held. The Kenyan Election Commission, as the numbers entered the opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, grew ever larger, until the trend suddenly turned and the commission left the incumbent President Kibaki as victorious. EU election observers reported on election fraud and the opposition went on the streets in protest. The rivalry between the two political candidates was quickly transformed into ethnic clashes between Kikuyuer loyal to Kibaki on the one hand and on the other Luoer loyal to Odinga. However, there was also a great deal of choice between Kibaki supported by the Kenyan citizenship and Odinga supported by the country’s poor.
- COUNTRYAAH.COM: Provides latest population data about Kenya. Lists by Year from 1950 to 2020. Also includes major cities by population.
The clashes cost several hundred killed before the UN Secretary-General in mid-January 2008 acted as mediator between the two candidates. However, it only slowed the violence for a few days. In addition to direct clashes between rival groups, the incumbent president has also deployed army and police towards his opponents. The clashes fled 300,000 and ended up costing 1,200 lives, while 40,000 houses were burned down or looted.
In April, Kibaki and Odinga signed an agreement on the division of power, so that Kibaki continued in the post of president while Odinga was appointed prime minister. The division of power created the next election in 2013 political and social calm in the country.
In August 2010, Kenyans voted for a new constitution. It was adopted with 67% of the votes cast and took effect 3 weeks later. It replaced the Constitution of 1969. The most important changes were: the triage of power is implemented so that it is divided into executive, legislative and judicial power; power is distributed at national and municipal levels; gender discrimination must no longer take place when citizenship is granted and Kenyans can claim dual citizenship; setting up a National Human Rights and Equality Commission. Although no studies of the 2007/08 conflict of elections were immediately initiated, there were positive signs following the adoption of the new constitution. The National Anti-Corruption Commission charged charges against several high-ranking government officials for corruption, and a minister was suspended following such a charge.
In December 2010, ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo issued a warrant for 6 Kenyans for crimes against humanity in connection with the 2007/08 election. The arrest warrant was rejected by the Kenyan authorities, who stated that the Kenyan judiciary itself had the capacity to investigate the cases. The ICC has a somewhat shaky reputation in Africa, as the only cases the war crimes court has wanted to travel for the last 10 years have been in Africa, while those responsible for mass murder in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine have not been held accountable.
In January 2011, Kibaki appointed people to the positions of Supreme Court President, Vice President, State Prosecutor and Director of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. This move was contrary to the new constitution. A number of popular organizations appealed for constitutional violations and got right. Parliament also characterized the appointments as unconstitutional and Kibaki had to withdraw them. Over the following 3-4 months, the correct constitutional process was completed to have these items filled out. Throughout 2011, a complicated political process was implemented around the adoption of comprehensive police reform. The police tried to maintain control and investigation of police offenses as a purely internal matter, but Parliament decided that police offenses should be investigated by a civil and independent authority.