Kenya - kĕnˈyə, kēnˈ–, officially Republic of Kenya, republic (1995 est. pop. 28,817,000), 224,960 sq mi (582,646 sq km), E Africa. Kenya is bordered by Somalia on the east, the Indian Ocean on the southeast, Tanzania on the south, Lake Victoria (Victoria Nyanza) on the southwest, Uganda on the west, Sudan on the northwest, and Ethiopia on the north.
Nairobi is the capital and largest city.
Land and People The country, which lies astride the equator, is made up of several geographical regions. The first is a narrow, coastal strip that is low lying except for the Taita Hills in the south. The second, an inland region of bush-covered plains, constitutes most of the country's land area. In the northwest, straddling Lake Turkana and the Kulal Mts., are high-lying scrublands. In the southwest are the fertile grasslands and forests of the Kenya highlands. In the west is the Great Rift Valley, an irregular depression that cuts through W Kenya from north to south in two branches. It is also the location of some of the country's highest mountains, including Mt. Kenya (17,058 ft/5,199 m). Kenya's main rivers are the Tana and the Athi. In addition to the capital, other important cities include
Mombasa (the chief port),
Nakuru,
Kisumu, Thika, Machakos, and Eldoret. People of African descent make up about 97% of the population; they are divided into about 40 ethnic groups, of which the Bantu-speaking Kikuyu, Luhya, Kalenjin, Kamba, and Gusii and the Nilotic-speaking Luo are predominant. Small numbers of persons of Indian, Pakistani, and European descent live in the interior, and there are some Arabs along the coast. The official languages of Kenya are Swahili and English; many indigenous languages are also spoken. About two thirds of the population is Christian, while a quarter follows traditional religious beliefs; the remainder are Muslim or Hindu. There are a number of universities, including the Univ. of Nairobi, Kenyatta Univ., Egerton Univ., and Moi Univ. Economy The great majority of Kenyans are engaged in farming, largely of the subsistence type. Coffee, tea, sisal, pyrethrum, corn, and wheat are grown in the highlands, mainly on small African-owned farms formed by dividing some of the large, formerly European-owned estates. Coconuts, pineapples, cashew nuts, cotton, sugarcane, sisal, and corn are grown in the lower-lying areas. Much of the country is savanna, where large numbers of cattle are pastured. Kenya also produces dairy goods, pork, poultry, and eggs. The country's leading manufactures include consumer goods such as plastic, furniture, textiles, cigarettes, and leather goods; refined petroleum; processed food; cement; and metal products. Industrial development has been hampered by shortages in hydroelectric power and inefficiency and corruption in the public sector; however, steps have been taken to privatize some state-owned companies. The chief minerals produced are limestone, soda ash, gold, salt, and fluorospar. Kenya attracts many tourists, largely lured by its coastal beaches and varied wildlife, which is protected in the expansive Tsavo National Park (8,034 sq mi/20,808 sq km) in the southeast. Kenya's chief exports are tea and coffee; fluctuations in their world prices have tremendous economic impact. The leading imports are machinery, transportation equipment, consumer goods, and petroleum and petroleum products. Major trading partners are the United Kingdom, Uganda, Tanzania, and the United Arab Emirates. Kenya's population growth continually exceeds the rate of economic growth, resulting in large budget deficits and high unemployment. The country's well-developed transportation system has suffered from neglect in recent years. Government The Kenyan government is headed by a president, who is popularly elected for a five-year term. Its constitution dates from independence (1963), and has been amended several times. The Bunge, the unicameral national assembly, consists of 222 members, 210 of whom are elected and 12 of whom are appointed by the president. The legal system is based on English, tribal, and Islamic law. The Kenya African National Union (KANU) dominated the government from independence until 2002. The country is divided into seven provinces and the Nairobi capital area. History Early History to Independence During the 1950s and 60s, the anthropologist L. S. B.
Leakey discovered in N Tanzania the remains of hominids who lived c.2 million years ago. These persons, perhaps the earliest humans on earth, most likely also inhabited S Kenya. In the Kenya highlands, the existence of farming and domestic herds can be dated to c.1000 b.c. Trade between the Kenya coast and Arabia was brisk by a.d. 100. Arabs settled on the coast during medieval times, and they soon established several autonomous city-states (including Mombasa, Malindi, and Pate). Farmers and herders traveled S from Ethiopia and settled in Kenya in c.2000 b.c. There is also evidence that Bantu-speaking people and Nilotic speakers from the S Sudan settled in Kenya between 500 b.c. and a.d. 500. The Portuguese first visited the Kenya coast in 1498, and by the end of the 16th cent. they controlled much of it, including Mombasa. However, in 1729, the Portuguese were permanently expelled from Mombasa and were replaced as the leading power on the coast by two Arab dynasties: the Busaidi dynasty, based first at Masqat (in Oman) and from 1832 on Zanzibar, and the Mazrui dynasty, based at Mombasa. The Busaidi wrested Mombasa from the Mazrui in 1837. From the early 19th cent. there was long-distance caravan trading between Mombasa and Lake Victoria. Beginning in the mid-19th cent., European explorers (especially John Ludwig Krapf and Joseph Thomson) mapped parts of the interior. The British and German governments agreed upon spheres of influence in E Africa in 1886, with most of present-day Kenya passing to the British. In 1887, a British association received concessionary rights to the Kenya coast from the sultan of Zanzibar. The association in 1888 was given a royal charter as the Imperial British East Africa Company, but severe financial difficulties soon led to its takeover by the British government, which established the East Africa Protectorate in 1895. A railroad was built (1895–1901) from Mombasa to Kisumu on Lake Victoria in order to facilitate trade with the interior and with Uganda. In 1903, the first settlers of European descent established themselves as large-scale farmers in the highlands by taking land from the Kikuyu, Maasai, and others. At the same time, Indian merchants moved inland from the coast. In 1920, the territory was renamed and its administration changed; the interior became Kenya Colony and a coastal strip (10 mi/16 km wide) was constituted the Protectorate of Kenya. From the 1920s to the 40s, European settlers controlled the government and owned extensive farmlands; Indians maintained small trade establishments and were lower-level government employees; and Africans grew cash crops such as coffee and cotton on a small scale, were subsistence farmers, or were laborers in the towns (especially Nairobi). In the 1920s, Africans began to protest their inferior status. Protest reached a peak between 1952 and 1956 with the so-called
Mau Mau Emergency, a complex armed revolt led by the Kikuyu, which was in part a rebellion against British rule and in part an attempt to reestablish traditional land rights and ways of governance. The British declared a state of emergency and imprisoned many of the colony's nationalist leaders, including Jomo
Kenyatta. After the revolt, Britain increased African representation in the colony's legislative council until, in 1961, there was an African majority. Modern Kenya On Dec. 12, 1963, Kenya (including both the colony and the protectorate) became independent. In 1964 the country became a republic, with Kenyatta as president. The first decade of independence was characterized by disputes among ethnic groups (especially between the Kikuyu and the Luo), by economic growth and diversification, and by the end of European predominance. Many Europeans (who numbered about 55,000 in 1962) and Asians voluntarily left the country. Boundary disputes with Somalia resulted in sporadic fighting (1963–68). In 1969, Tom
Mboya, a leading government official and a possible successor to Kenyatta, was assassinated. More than 70% of the country was affected by the sub-Saharan drought of the early 1970s. Kenyatta's silencing of opponents led to further unrest domestically. Throughout the 1970s relations with neighboring countries deteriorated as well; there was a territorial dispute with Uganda, and Tanzania closed its border with Kenya when Kenya harbored several of Idi
Amin's supporters after the fall of his regime. After Kenyatta's death in 1978, Vice President Daniel arap
Moi succeeded him as president. Moi promoted the Africanization of industry by placing limits on foreign ownership and by extending credit to African investors. Domestically, he rejected demands for democratization and suppressed opposition. With economic conditions worsening, rumors of a coup led Moi to dismantle the air force and order the imprisonment of those suspected of involvement. Throughout the 1980s, Moi consolidated power in the presidency and continued to conduct periodic purges of his administration. Rioting erupted in 1988 after several outspoken proponents of a multiparty democracy were arrested. Bowing to pressure at home and abroad, in 1991 the legislature passed a constitutional amendment legalizing multiparty democracy. In 1992, Moi was reelected president in Kenya's first multiparty election in 26 years. Opponents denounced the election as fraudulent, and the government was subsequently accused of human-rights violations. Moi was reelected in 1997, but the governing party lost several seats in parliament. In Aug., 1998, a terrorist bomb exploded at the U.S |
