Kenya
is named after a mountain of the same name. The Kikuyu people who lived around
present day Mt Kenya referred to it as Kirinyaga or Kerenyaga, meaning ‘mountain
of whiteness’ because of its snow capped peak. Mt Kirinyaga which was the
main landmark became synonymous with the territory the British later claimed
as their colony. However, the name Kenya arose out of the inability of the British
to pronounce Kirinyaga correctly.
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Early Visitors
The
first people to settle in Kenya were indeginous African communities who migrated
from various parts of the continent. Other visitors included traders, explorers
and tourists who came in from various parts of the world such as Portugal, Arabia,
Roman empire, India and Greece. They visited mainly the East African Coast from
as early as the first century A.D. While the majority of the visitors went back
to their countries, some settled, and intermarried with the local populations
giving rise to a new Swahili culture along the Coast.
The
civilisation base of craft industries, farming, fishing and international trade
gave rise to both Coastal city states such as Siu, Pate, Lamu, Malindi, Gede,
Mombasa and Vanga . Islam and Kiswahili language were also introduced . The
traders from overseas brought such items as clothes, beads, wines, iron weapons,
porcelain and handicrafts. These were exchanged for ivory, timber, gold, copper,
rhinoceros horns, animal skins and slaves.
The
first major European presence in East Africa started with the arrival of the
Portuguese in the East African waters in 1498 when Vasco Da Gama’s fleet
made its initial forays on its way to the East Indies. On the first voyage his
only negotiations were with the ruler of Malindi and, indeed, for the next hundred
years this alliance was the foundation of the Portuguese network in the region.
Their quest to control and dominate the lucrative Indian Ocean trade, the conquest
of several city-states along the coast, and the establishment of their dominance,
lasted 200 years.
But
their presence was hated and resisted and there were many insurrections against
them. For example, on the 16th August 1631, the Arab Sultan of Mombasa called
Dom Jeronimo Chingulia entered the Portuguese Citadel of Fort Jesus with a band
of followers through the passage of the Arches. He killed the Portuguese Captain,
Pedro Leitao de Gamboa, and then gave the signal to his followers outside the
Fort to set fire to the Portuguese houses in the town. There was no marked resistance
and in the course of the next two weeks all the Portuguese were killed. The
Portuguese were finally kicked out of the Coastal towns through a combination
of local nationalisms, aided by the Omani Arabs. To ensure the Portuguese did
not return, Sultan Seyyid Said of Oman moved his capital to Zanzibar and ruled
the entire East African Coastline until the establishment of British rule. Up^
The
scramble for colonies in Africa among European countries reached fever pitch
in 1884, when the Berlin Conference was convened to partition Africa amongst
European colonial rivals. Among British acquisitions was the land we today call
Kenya. A British trading company, Imperial British East Africa Company, was
set up and posted to administer Kenya under the name British East Africa Protectorate.
When it was realised that the company could not contain Kenya’s hostile
communities the British declared the country a colony and Protectorate on 1st
July 1895 and posted the first Governor, Sir Arthur Hardinge, to establish a
formal British administration.
The
seventy years of colonial rule in Kenya were characterised by punitive economic,
social and political policies. Most outstanding among these policies was racial
discrimination. Huge fertile land was alienated for white settlement, and harsh
labour laws were enacted to force the Africans to work at low wages on settler
farms and public works. In addition, African political participation was confined
to local government.
It
was against this scenario that African protest movements began in earnest from
the early 1920s. Several political associations, including the Young Kikuyu
Association, East African Association, Young Kavirondo Association, North Kavirondo
Central Association and Taita Hills Association, were formed to articulate African
grievances against forced labour, low wages, heavy taxation, continuing land
alienation, and racial discrimination.
Between
1944 and 1960 African political activity and pressure were intensified. In 1944,
the first countrywide nationalist party, Kenya African Union (KAU) was formed.
And in the same year the first African, Eliud Mathu, was nominated to the settler
dominated Legislative Council. Unhappiness with the slow political and economic
change led to the breakdown of law and order in the early 1950s, and in 1952
Governor, Sir Everlyn Baring declared a state of emergency following the outbreak
of the Mau Mau rebellion, whose major grievances included land alienations,
racial discrimination and lack of political progress.
The
state of emergency, however, intensified political resolve for independence,
forcing the colonial government to come up with constitutional proposals. Under
the Lyttleton constitution of 1954 Africans were allowed to directly elect their
representatives to the Legislative Council. The elections were held in 1957,
and eight African leaders - Ronald Ngala, Tom Mboya, Daniel arap Moi, Mate,
Muimi, Oginga Odinga, Oguda and Muliro, were elected. They stepped up agitation
for widened representation and independence. After considerable discussion,
it was decided to form a mass organization to mobilize the people for the final
assault on colonialism, hence the birth of Kenya
African National Union, (KANU). KANU was formed in March 1960, at Kiambu town,
and on 11 June 1960, it was registered as a mass political society. But as the
objective of freedom became evident, many of the smaller communities feared
domination by the larger ethnic groups, and on June 25, 1960 they formed the
Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU). The first election on a broad electoral
register was held in 1961, and was won by KANU. In another election in May 1963,
KANU captured 83 of the 124 seats in the House of Representatives and formed
the Madaraka Administration on 1st June 1963, and the independence Government
on 12th December 1963, under Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. Up^
Independent Kenya
The first Government of independent Kenya immediately had to deal with some pressing economic and political problems. The priorities were acceleration of growth, Kenyanisation of the economy and redistribution of incomes. None of this, however, could be achieved without political stability, and it was first felt necessary to neutralize those elements in the country who supported extreme policies and who were undermining, rather than building confidence in the new nation. Thus, Kenya embarked on the road to peace and stability, which has made it possible for the country to realize great strides in development.
The country has had three Presidents since independence. Upon Jomo Kenyatta’s death on 22nd August 1978, Daniel arap Moi took over the leadership. He retired on 30th December 2002 in line with a constitutional Provision which limits the Presidential term to a maximum 10 years of 5 years each. This provision took effect in 1991 following the re-introduction of multipartism. Previously kenya was a single party state.
Mwai Kibaki took over from Moi on 30th December 2002 to become Kenya's third President. Kibaki and his National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) won with a landslide in the December 27 2002 general elections, thus ending KANU's forty year stranglehold.
Kenya has played a leading role in the quest for peace and stability in the
turbulent East African region, because of her stability and general neutrality.
The country has held regular elections every five years since independence.
The last election held in December 2002 and which was largely hailed as peaceful
paved the way for a smooth transfer of power. Up^
Kenya
is bordered to the north by Sudan and Ethiopia, to the east by Somalia, to the
west by Uganda, to the south by Tanzania, and to the southeast by the Indian
Ocean. Much of the country, especially in the north and east, is arid or semi-arid.
From the Indian Ocean the land rises gradually through dry bush to the fine
arable land of the highlands. Up^
Kenya
covers an area of approximately 224,960 square miles and lies almost exactly
astride the equator. Up^
In
the low-lying districts, particularly along the coast, the climate is tropical,
hot and humid. On the Plateau and in the highlands the climate is more temperate.
Western Kenya and most parts of Nyanza experience heavy conventional rain and
have two rain seasons, the long rains from April to June and the short rains
from October to November.
Kenya’s
warm climate is favourable for tourism during the drier season that is between
September and March. Up^
According to the national population and housing census report of August 1999, there are an estimated 28,808,658 Kenyans dispersed around the country. In the semi arid north and northeast regions, population density hardly reaches 2 per sq km, whereas in the rich and fertile western, population density rises to 120 persons per sq km. In the well endowed Rift Valley, population density varies from one area to another with an average of 13 inhabitants per sq km.
Nearly 25% of the total is concentrated in the large cities of Nairobi, Mombasa
and Kisumu including large towns such as Nakuru. Women account for 50.48% of
the total population. Up^
Cushites:
This group includes the Somali, Orma, Rendille, and Borana.
Bantu: This includes the Gikuyu, Luhya, Kamba, Embu, Meru, Kisii, Mijikenda,
Taveta, Taita Pokomo, Bajuni, Boni and Sanye
Nilotes: Includes the Luo, Kalenjin, Maasai, Teso and Samburu.
Protestants:
38%
Catholics : 28%
Indigenious religions : 26%
Muslims : 7%
Others : 1%
Languages : English (Official),Swahili (national), local languages.
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Principal commercial cities and
towns
Nairobi
is the capital city and a commercial center. It is situated 300 miles from the
Coast and lies midway between the capitals of Uganda and Tanzania. It is the
largest city in east Africa and houses two UN agencies, UNEP and Habitat.
Mombasa
is Kenya’s main port and popular holiday city. It is situated on an island
in a natural sheltered inlet. It is the only port that serves not only Kenya
but land locked countries like Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi and Eastern Democratic
Republic of Congo and Southern Sudan.
Kisumu
is the Chief Port city on the shores of lake Victoria. It serves western Kenya,
Uganda and Tanzania.
Nakuru
is an agricultural and industrial town in the Rift Valley basin.
Eldoret lies on the main road and rail route to Uganda. It is mainly an agricultural town that serves wheat and Maize farmers from the North Rift.