Land, People and Politics Kenya: Land, People and Politics

Regional Map Capital: Nairobi Area: 582,650 sq km; about twice the size of Nevada Population: 36,913,721 (2007 estimate) Main ethnic groups:Kikuyu, Luhya, Luo, Kalenjin, Kamba, Kisii, Meru GDP per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,600 (2007 estimate) 40% of the labor force is unemployed. Of those working, 75% are employed in agriculture while 25% are employed in service/industry 50% of the population lives below the poverty line AIDS and Malaria are leading causes of illness and death in the country.

Ethnic Groups Map Kikuyu 22%: The Kikuyu homeland is around Mount Kenya. Land ownership is the most important social, political, religious, and economic factor. Kikuyu farmers produce most of the fresh produce that is consumed in Nairobi as well as coffee and tea for export. Luhya 14%: The Luyha's traditional homeland is around Kakamega in western Kenya. The Luyha suffer from high population density which effects their farming economy as cultivation occurs on plots that get smaller with each generation. They are important producers of sugar-cane. Luo 13%: The Luo live for the most part on the shores of Lake Victoria. They are fishermen and farmers. The Luo also played an important role during the independence struggle and many leading politicians have been Luo including Oginga Odinga, Tom Mboya, and Robert Ouko. Kalenjin 12%: The Kalenjin have become politically powerful. They live primarily in the Rift Valley Although mainly pastoralists, the Kalenjin have taken up some agriculture and also produce honey. , Kamba 11%: The Kamba homeland, which is east of Nairobi towards Tsavo national park Meru 6%: The Meru live mainly on the northeast side of Mount Kenya. They are farmers and also produce tea, coffee, pyrethrum, maize, potatoes and miraa, a stimulant popular with Muslims.

The Land Kenya has a range of features from large cities to wide open plains. Some parts of the country are very fertile and support agriculture. Other regions are dry and warm with little rainfall. The vast plains support a wide array of wildlife and make Kenya one of the most desired destinations for safaris. Top left: Mt. Kenya, the country’s highest peak. Top center: Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest lake and the source of Kenya’s fishing industry. To right: Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. Bottom right: The grasslands that are home to many of the country’s indigenous species.

Tourism Tourism is the second largest industry in Kenya Approximately 1 million tourists travel to Kenya for safaris each year This is a $1 billion industry that impacts the daily lives of nearly 5 million Kenyans Tourism accounts for much of Kenya’s economic growth over the past several decades

Other Industries Agriculture is the backbone of Kenya’s economy, providing food for the citizens as well as for export Approximately 75 % of the country’s people are employed in agriculture Primary crops that are exported include tea, flowers and sugar

Social Issues 1,300,000: Estimated number of people living with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2005 6.1%:Estimated percentage of adults (ages 15-49) living with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2005 62%: Estimated percentage of HIV cases that occured among women (ages 15-49) by the end of 2005 150,000: Estimated number of children (ages 0-15) living with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2005 140,000: Estimated number of deaths due to AIDS during 2005 1,100,000: Estimated number of children who have lost their mother or father or both parents to AIDS and who were alive and under the age of 17 end of 2005 Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite. People with malaria often experience fever, chills, and flu-like illness. This disease can be prevented and cured by using bednets, insecticides, and antimalarial drugs. Lake Victoria, Kenya is the malaria capital of the world. In this region, twenty-percent of children under the age of five die of malaria.

Social Issues Poverty: 50% of Kenya’s population lives below the poverty line Unemployment: While most Kenyans (85%) are literate, the unemployment rate is 40% Ethnic Clashes: particularly since the Dec. 2007 elections, Kenyans have become divided socially and politically by ethnic groups. This has caused many to become refugees, fleeing from their homes and businesses to government camps or back to the ancestral homeland of their particular ethnic group.

Politics Kenya is a democratic republic The country gained independence from the United Kingdom on Dec. 12, 1963, and was ruled by the Kenya African National Union until 2002. Kenya was a de-facto one party state for many years, and an official one-party state from 1982 to 1991, during which KANU made itself the only legal party in Kenya. Independent Kenya's first multi-party democratic election was held in 1992, but the 2002 elections marked the first time the presidency and the parliamentary majority changed hands. The executive branch is made up of an elected president and an appointed vice president and cabinet. The president, who is the chief of state, head of government and the commander in chief of the armed forces, is elected to a five-year term by a direct popular vote and is eligible for two terms. A presidential candidate needs to win the absolute majority of votes, as well as win 25 percent or more of the vote in at least five of Kenya's provinces. President Mwai Kibaki, of the Party of National Unity, was elected for his second term as president in highly contested elections on Dec. 27, 2007.

Political Issues Ethnic violence racked Kenya, once one of Africa's most stable and prosperous nations, killing nearly 1000 people and driving more than 300,000 from their homes after a disputed presidential election on Dec. 27, 2007. Political riots exploded in the streets on Dec. 30, after the government announced that President Mwai Kibaki had been re-elected. Kenya's top opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, accused him of rigging the vote. International observers also expressed suspicion that Kibaki-loyal election officials stuffed ballot boxes. The violence quickly dissolved into an ethnic battle between mobs and militias. The Kalenjin ethnic group, who support Odinga, began burning houses and beating and murdering Kikuyus, Kibaki's ethnic group. Kikuyus have dominated politics and the Kenyan economy for many years. Odinga's ethnic group, Luos, and other supporting groups like Kalenjin had high hopes for him to win the presidency and increase the representation of different ethnic groups. Under the power-sharing deal announced Feb. 28, 2008, Kibaki would remain president, with cabinet posts split between rival parties, and Odinga would become executive prime minister, a newly created cabinet post.

Politics: President Mwai Kibaki was sworn in as Kenya's president after a controversial re-election on Dec. 27, 2007. His disputed victory sparked violence in the East African nation of 36 million people. Backers of opposition leader Raila Odinga charged that the vote-counting was rigged. Kibaki first came into power in December 2002, when he and his opposition alliance, the National Rainbow Coalition, won 63 percent of the vote and a parliamentary majority. Born Nov. 15, 1931, Kibaki is a Kikuyu, Kenya's largest ethnic group.

Politics: Executive Prime Minister Born Jan. 2, 1945, Raila Odinga comes from the Luo tribe, one of Kenya's largest ethnic groups. Odinga's father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, was a nationalist hero and Kenya's first vice president in 1963. Odinga helped Mwai Kibaki win power in 2002, joining the National Rainbow Coalition party which Kibaki led. Odinga served for three years in Kibaki's cabinet as minister for roads, public works and housing, but was fired for campaigning against Kibaki in a constitutional referendum in 2005. In 2007, Odinga ran against Kibaki as leader of the Orange Democratic Movement, but was defeated. Under the power-sharing deal announced Feb. 28, 2008, Odinga was given the newly created position of executive prime minister.