Kenya Independence Political
Kenya: A look at the History, Economy, & |Education System
Kenya is located on the eastern coast of Africa. Neighboring countries include Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, and Uganda. In addition a portion of Kenya borders the Indian Ocean. Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is the home of a national game park. Mount Kenya is the second highest peak in Africa. The Kenyan highlands are one of the most successful agricultural regions in Africa. Kenya is approximately twice the size of Nevada. The estimated population of Kenya in July 2008 is 38 million. How has the Kenya of today emerged from the Kenya of yesterday?
Kenya gained its independence on December 12, 1963 from the United Kingdom. Jomo Kenyatta led Kenya from its independence until his death in 1978. Upon Kenyatta's death President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi took power in a constitutional succession. From 1969 until 1982 Kenya was a de facto one-party state when the Kenya African National Union (KANU) made itself the sole legal party of Kenya. Moi complied with internal and external pressure for political liberalization in 1991. The opposition party was unable to dislodge KANU from power during the 1992 and 1997 elections. The elections were spoiled by violence and fraud, but were generally viewed as the will of the Kenyan people. President Moi resigned as president in December 2002, following fair and peaceful elections. The candidate for the multiethnic, united opposition group, National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), Mwai Kibaki, defeated the KANU candidate, Uhuru Kenyatta after the resignation of President Moi. By 2005 the NARC coalition had fractured due to differences over the constitutional review process. Government defectors joined with KANU to form the group known as the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). Mwai Kibaki was reelected in December 2007. The ODM candidate Raila Odinga brought charges of vote rigging that brought an outbreak of violence that lasted two months. Kenyans, which turned out in record numbers to vote, were appalled at the violence that erupted. During the outbreak over vote rigging it is estimated that as many as 1,500 people died. In February 2008 UN sponsored negotiations brought about a power sharing agreement that placed Raila Odinga as the prime minister of Kenya.
Kenya has long been under the control of a repressive government since its formation as a colony. Land has been a key concern throughout Kenyan history. British colonial government claimed large tracts of productive land for white colonization. At independence President Kenyatta and other elites gained access to large tracts of land thus pushing poorer Kikuyu tribesman into informal settlements in Nairobi. President Moi followed the same land structuring as did President Kenyatta, a close associate of President Moi. The heritage of politically acquired land inequities still exists today. Police brutality has long been a thorn in the side of Kenyan people. Corruption is widespread among the police force. Pay for protection techniques are widely used among the police. Many of Kenya's elite families have paid for the police to protect family members that are targeted by militias. Regrettably this partisan behavior is nearly universal throughout the bureaucracy, down to the civil servants that deal with the average person on a daily basis.
Kenya is the regional hub for trade and finance in East Africa. Located at Mombasa is the main port for Kenya. The economy has been hampered severely by the corruption that Kenya has experienced. A severe drought from 1999-2000 has further hampered the economy of Kenya. The drought caused water and energy rationing and therefore reduced agricultural output. The agricultural products produced in Kenya include: tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables, dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, and eggs. The industries of Kenya include: small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, clothing, soap, cigarettes, and flour), horticulture, oil refining, aluminum, steel, lead, cement, commercial ship repair, and tourism. The Gross Domestic Product per capita was estimated in 2007 at $1700, 23.8% of that was from agriculture. The estimated unemployment rate for 2001 was 40% and the estimated percentage of the population that lives below the poverty line for 2000 was 50%.
The education system has made great strides in the last five years; however it is not enough. It is estimated that only 50% of Kenyan children have completed school. The education system is very inefficient and wasteful due to the repetition and drop out rates. The cause of children dropping out is starts in the community and at home. Many families do not have the funding essential to feed their children let alone provide them with the necessary materials for school. Consequently since there seem to be little returns on education parents are unmotivated to assist their children in receiving an education. Poverty has been on the rise in Kenya and with the shift to a cost sharing policy for education many communities do no have adequate funding for education. All of these factors have a negative impact on child's school participation. The burden of paying teachers rests with the government, conversely parents and communities are responsible for the physical structure and the materials needed by students.
Oddly enough Kenya has been instrumental in negotiating a resolve to the civil war in Sudan and reinstating a central government in Somalia. Recently Kenya's relationships with Uganda and Tanzania have improved as the three countries work together for mutual economic benefit. Western countries find that Kenya maintains a generally friendly attitude towards them. Even though some of Kenya's current political and economic instabilities are blamed on Western pressures. There needs to be reconciliation and healing between the political parties of Kenya. The violence in Kenya not only affects its own inhabitants but those of neighboring lands of Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda. Those neighboring landlocked countries depend on Kenya's roads and rail line to deliver essential goods, particularly fuel. Kenya is considered the most industrialized country in the region with the largest port on the East Africa coast. If the violence and economic disruption continues there will likely be widespread food shortages, inflation, increased poverty, and instability in the region.
Bibliography
Abagi, O., & Odipo, G. (September 1997). Efficiency of primary education in Kenya:
Situational analysis and implications for educational reform.
Central Intelligence Agency. (June 19, 2008). The World Factbook: Kenya. Retrieved
July 10, 2008 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
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Klopp, J., & Kamungi, P. (2007, Winter2007/2008). Violence and elections: Will Kenya
collapse?. World Policy Journal, 24(4), 11-18. Retrieved July 10, 2008, fromAcademic Search Complete database.
Profile. (2007, December). Background notes on countries of the world: Kenya,
Retrieved July 5, 2008, from Business Source Complete database.
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