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| Mount Kenya |
Archaeological research indicates modern man first appeared in Kenya and as a result, the country with its East African neighbours is almost certainly considered the cradle of mankind. Due to the varied geography and weather, people performing varied economic activities and thus developing varied cultures have been living in Kenya since the dawn of mankind. The first and successful attempt to merge these diverse and rich cultures under a nation was done by the arrival of Europeans around 19th century. Initially, peoples of then Kenya interacted through trade, intermarriages and frequent wars though each remained politically independent of the other.
A major African nation, Kenya is classified as a developing and sometimes an emerging African nation. Its economy is the largest by GDP in East and Central Africa and Kenya's capital, Nairobi is a major commercial hub. The country traditionally produces world renowned tea and coffee. Recently, it has developed a formidable horticultural industry thereby becoming a major exporter of fresh flowers to Europe.The service industry is driven by telecommunications sector which is one of the most successful and innovative in Africa.
Kenya is also a major and world-renowned athletics powerhouse producing such world champions as Paul Tergat and most recently David Rudisha.
Etymology
The word Kenya, /ˈkɛnjə/, originates from the Kikuyu, Embu and Kamba names for Mount Kenya, "Kirinyaga", "Kirinyaa" and "Kiinyaa". The English meaning of the words, in all three languages, is "place with ostriches" – in reference to the black and white plumage of male ostriches. When viewed from a distance the snow-capped peak of the mountain is like the white feathers of a male ostrich. Prehistoric volcanic eruptions of Mount Kenya (now extinct) may have resulted in its association with divinity and creation among the indigenous Kikuyu-related ethic groups who are the original native inhabitants of the vast agricultural land surrounding Mount Kenya.
In the 19th Century, the German explorer Ludwig Krapf recorded the name as both Kenia and Kegnia believed by some to be a corruption of the Kamba version.[8][9][10] Others say that this was—on the contrary—a very precise notation of a correct African pronunciation /ˈkɛnjə/.[11] During the colonial period, the name was pronounced /ˈkiːnjə/. That pronunciation has been abandoned since independence in favour of the African version.[12]
Politics
Kenya is a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is both the head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. There was growing concern especially during former president Daniel arap Moi's tenure that the executive was increasingly meddling with the affairs of the judiciary.[citation needed]
Kenya has maintained remarkable stability despite changes in its political system and crises in neighbouring countries. A cross-party parliamentary reform initiative in the autumn of 1997 revised some oppressive laws inherited from the colonial era that had been used to limit freedom of speech and assembly. This improved public freedoms and contributed to generally credible national elections in December 1997.[citation needed]
In December 2002, Kenyans held democratic and open elections, most of which were judged free and fair by international observers. The 2002 elections marked an important turning point in Kenya's democratic evolution in that power was transferred peacefully from the Kenya African Union (KANU), which had ruled the country since independence to the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc), a coalition of political parties.
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. A few of these promises have been met. There is free primary education. In 2007 the government issued a statement declaring that from 2008, secondary education would be heavily subsidised, with the government footing all tuition fees.
[edit] 2007 elections
Main article: Kenyan presidential election, 2007
The last general elections were held on 27 December 2007. In them, President Kibaki under the Party of National Unity ran for re-election against the main opposition party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). The elections were seen to have been flawed with international observers saying that they were below international standards. After a split which would take a crucial 8% of the votes away from the ODM to the newly formed Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya (ODM-K)'s candidate, Kalonzo Musyoka, the race tightened between ODM candidate Raila Odinga and Kibaki. As the count came in to the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) headquarters, Odinga was shown to have a slight, and then substantial lead as the results from his strongholds came in early. As the ECK continued to count the votes, Kibaki closed the gap and then overtook his opponent by a substantial margin after votes from his stronghold arrived later. This led to protests and open discrediting of the ECK for complicity and to Odinga declaring himself the "people's president" and calling for a recount.[43]
The protests escalated into violence and destruction of property, almost 1,000 people were killed and nearly 600,000 displaced.[44][45][46] The dispute caused underlying tensions over land and its distribution to re-erupt, as it had in the 1992 and 1997 elections.[46] Hundreds of thousands were forced off their land to relatives elsewhere in the country and some claim weapons are being bought in the region, perhaps in anticipation of the 2012 elections.[46]
A group of eminent persons of Africa, led by former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, brokered a peaceful solution to the political stalemate. This group enjoyed the backing of the UN, European Union, African Union and United States government, as well as those of various other notable countries across the world. More information is available in clashes in Kenya (2007–present).
Annan requested mediation support for his team on the Panel Secretariat from the Swiss based conflict mediation organisation, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.
