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Kenya
Area: 580,370 sq. km (224,081sq. ml)
Population: 34.5 million (2005)
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 (mainstream) 27%, Protestant (evangelical) 23%, Roman Catholic 31%, Muslim 8%, other 2%, None 2% (Afro Barometer, March 2004)
Currency: Kenyan shilling (KSH) £135KSh (May 2007)
Head of State: Emilio Mwai Kibaki (elected 27 December 2002)
Foreign Minister: Raphael Tuju
Major Political parties: ODM-K, Narc-K, Ford-K, Ford-P, LPK, NPK, Safina, New Kanu, Kanu.
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).
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.
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 one-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 one-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.
POLITICS
President Moi stepped down in 2002, as required by the 1991 constitution. Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Jomo, 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 have proved difficult due to the fracturing of the NARC coalition. Since June 2004 the government has included representatives from KANU and FORD People as well. The biggest disagreements have been 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. The No campaigners formed a new political party, ODM-K, which looks likely to be the main opposition to the pro-Government Narc-K at the next election scheduled for 2007. The constitutional review has dominated political debate to the detriment of other government business. 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 one has since been re-appointed. The next elections are likely to be held in December 2007 and President Kibaki has indicated that he will stand again.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Kenya has many active civil society groups and a relatively free press, despite high profile incidents such as the government raid on the Standard Media group in March 2006. The NARC government has established a National Commission on Human Rights which has successfully raised the profile of human rights. A major reform of the judiciary, law and order and penal sector is underway. But standards of policing are variable and conditions for prisoners remain poor. The FCO supports a range of human rights activities throughout East Africa.
ECONOMY
Basic Economic Facts
GDP: US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$ 19.4 bn (2005); GDP per capita: US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$566 (est 2005)
Annual growth: 6% (estimate 2006)
Inflation: 6.8% (February 2007)
Exchange Rate: KSh 128 = £1 sterling (January 2006)
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.
Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy with up to 80% of the population dependent on it. In 2004 there was modest growth (1.6%) in the agricultural sector (horticultural products, coffee, tea, maize, sisal, cotton, tobacco and dairy produce). The strongest performers were horticulture, tea and sugarcane. In some sectors depressed international prices held down earnings. Tourism, a major source of foreign exchange, picked up significantly in 2004 with a 51.9% increase in earnings over 2003. In 2003 British visitors were responsible for the second highest number of hotel bed nights at 324,300, after Germany.
Overall economic performance has been disappointing, due to persistent governance failures and the slow pace of reforms. The pace has picked up slowly since the election of the NARC government. Initially macro-economic stability was maintained at the cost of negative per capita growth. However, economic growth rose to 2.8% in 2003 and reached 4.3% in 2004 according to government figures – exceeding population growth (2.95%) for the first time in several years.
The IMF approved a new Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with Kenya in late 2003. But the Government has made slow progress in implementing its Economic Recovery Strategy (ERS) for Wealth and Employment Creation. The 2005/6 budget gave new emphasis to ERS priorities, with particular emphasis on increasing expenditure on health, education and infrastructure. . Government forecasts GDP growth of 5% in 2005/6.
DEVELOPMENT
Kenyan economic decline has seen the numbers living below the poverty line rise from 48% in 1990 to 56% in 2002. Key social indicators - literacy, life expectancy (54.7 years), child and maternal mortality and social inequality – have all worsened. A recent Department of Health study showed under 5 mortality 114 per 1000 live births (up from 112), infant mortality up to 77 from 73 and maternal mortality about 400 per 100,000 live births. On the positive side, official statistics show HIV/AIDS prevalence in pregnant women has decreased for the second year running (down from 10% to 9.7%). The key challenges facing the government are to implement their Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERS), tackle corruption and respond effectively to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The UK bilateral aid programme is set to rise from around £30 million in 2003/04 to £50 million in 2005/6, subject to the Government's progress in implementing the ERS. Major sectors for British assistance are education and health. The Department for International Development's (DFID) programme focuses on improving accountability and poor peoples' access to high-quality services (such as school and health care) and promoting sustainable economic growth that benefits the poor. Kenya is one of the five countries identified by President Bush and the Prime Minister for closer collaboration between the UK and the US in tackling AIDS.
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.
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 three 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 extensive assistance programme.
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