Republic of Kenya

Kenya, 1964 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed

Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. Modern-day Kenya emerged from a protectorate, established by the British Empire in 1895, and the subsequent Kenya Colony, which began in 1920. The 1992 elections marked the beginning of multiparty politics after more than 25 years of KANU rule. In August 2010, Kenyans held a referendum and passed a new constitution, which limited presidential powers and devolved the central government.

Seat of power: Nairobi

Rulers

Jomo Kenyatta

President of Kenya, 1964–1978

Jomo Kenyatta governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. Desiring a one-party state, he transferred regional powers to his central government, suppressed political dissent, and prohibited KANU's only rival, Oginga Odinga's leftist Kenya People's Union, from competing in elections. His rule was criticised as dictatorial, authoritarian, and neocolonial, of favouring Kikuyu over other ethnic groups, and of facilitating the growth of widespread corruption.

Portrait of Jomo Kenyatta: Pridan Moshe, Public domain, file

Daniel arap Moi

President of Kenya, 1978–2002

Moi served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002 and is the country's longest-serving president to date. Moi's regime was deemed dictatorial especially before 1992 when Kenya was a one-party state. Following the agitation and external pressure, he was forced to allow multiparty elections in 1991.

Portrait of Daniel arap Moi: Croes, Rob C. / Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, file

Mwai Kibaki

President of Kenya, 2002–2013

Mwai Kibaki served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013. 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.

Portrait of Mwai Kibaki: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, OGL v1.0, file

Uhuru Kenyatta

President of Kenya, 2013–2022

Uhuru Kenyatta served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. The Supreme Court overturned the results of the 2017 election in a landmark ruling that established its position as an independent check on the president.

Portrait of Uhuru Kenyatta: Amanda Lucidon / White House, Public domain, file

William Ruto

President of Kenya, 2022 to today

William Ruto is the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Ruto, now running under the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), defeated Odinga for the presidency in the 2022 election. In June 2024, Ruto's proposed finance bill was the subject of protests in which at least 22 people were killed, causing Ruto to back down and withdraw the bill.

Portrait of William Ruto: Government of Kenya, Public domain, file

Culture

Kibaki was reelected in highly contested elections marred by political and ethnic violence. In the ensuing violence, 1,500 people were killed and another 600,000 internally displaced, making it the worst post-election violence in Kenya.
In March 2018, a historic handshake between Kenyatta and Odinga signalled a period of reconciliation followed by economic growth and increased stability.
In 2024, Ruto and the Kenya Kwanza coalition faced popular protests over the Kenyan Finance Bill 2024.
The mobile banking service M-Pesa was launched in 2007 by Vodafone and Safaricom.

Picture

Nairobi is Kenya's capital and largest city.

Image: Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.