Portal:Kenya

Introduction

Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya (Swahili: Jamhuri ya Kenya), is a country in East Africa. With a population of more than 47.6 million in the 2019 census, Kenya is the 28th-most-populous country in the world and 7th most populous in Africa. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi, while its oldest and second-largest city, is the major port city of Mombasa, situated on Mombasa Island in the Indian Ocean and the surrounding mainland. Mombasa was the capital of the British East Africa Protectorate, which included most of what is now Kenya and southwestern Somalia, from 1889 to 1907. Other important cities include Kisumu and Nakuru. Kenya is bordered by South Sudan to the northwest, Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. Kenya's geography, climate and population vary widely, ranging from cold snow-capped mountaintops (Batian, Nelion and Point Lenana on Mount Kenya) with vast surrounding forests, wildlife and fertile agricultural regions to temperate climates in western and rift valley counties and further on to dry less fertile arid and semi-arid areas and absolute deserts (Chalbi Desert and Nyiri Desert).

Kenya's earliest inhabitants were hunter-gatherers, like the present-day Hadza people. According to archaeological dating of associated artifacts and skeletal material, Cushitic speakers first settled in Kenya's lowlands between 3,200 and 1,300 BC, a phase known as the Lowland Savanna Pastoral Neolithic. Nilotic-speaking pastoralists (ancestral to Kenya's Nilotic speakers) began migrating from present-day South Sudan into Kenya around 500 BC. Bantu people settled at the coast and the interior between 250 BC and 500 AD.

European contact began in 1500 AD with the Portuguese Empire, and effective colonisation of Kenya began in the 19th century during the European exploration of the interior. Modern-day Kenya emerged from a protectorate established by the British Empire in 1895 and the subsequent Kenya Colony, which began in 1920. Numerous disputes between the UK and the colony led to the Mau Mau revolution, which began in 1952, and the declaration of independence in 1963. After independence, Kenya remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The current constitution was adopted in 2010 and replaced the 1963 independence constitution.

Kenya is a presidential representative democratic republic, in which elected officials represent the people and the president is the head of state and government. Kenya is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, COMESA, International Criminal Court, as well as other international organisations. With a GNI of 1,840, Kenya is a lower-middle-income economy. Kenya's economy is the second largest in eastern and central Africa, after Ethiopia, with Nairobi serving as a major regional commercial hub. Agriculture is the largest sector; tea and coffee are traditional cash crops, while fresh flowers are a fast-growing export. The service industry is also a major economic driver, particularly tourism. Kenya is a member of the East African Community trade bloc, though some international trade organisations categorise it as part of the Greater Horn of Africa. Africa is Kenya's largest export market, followed by the European Union. (Full article...)

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Coffee production is a significant contributor to the economy of Kenya. The industry is noted for its cooperative system of production, processing, milling, marketing, and auction system. About 70% of Kenyan coffee is produced in small farms that control about 75% of the land under production. It was estimated in 2012 that there were about 150,000 coffee farmers in Kenya. Other sources suggest that 6 million Kenyans are employed directly or indirectly in the coffee industry.

The acidic soil in the highlands of central Kenya together with just the right amount of sunlight and rainfall provide excellent conditions for growing coffee plants. However, due to a property boom in areas that grow coffee and price instability, production in this African Great Lakes country fell from about 130,000 tonnes in 1987/8 to 40,000 tonnes in 2011/12. (Full article...)

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Dusk at Lake Naivasha, Nakuru County.

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Kakamega County is a county of Kenya. Its capital is Kakamega and its largest town is Mumias. It has a population of 1,660,651 and an area of 3,033.8 km². (Read more...)

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The 2013 CECAFA Cup (known as the GOtv CECAFA Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 37th edition of the annual CECAFA Cup, an international football competition consisting of the national teams of member nations of the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA). The tournament was held in Kenya from 27 November to 12 December.

Contested by twelve national teams, the tournament had Zambia invited as a guest nation to fill in for Djibouti, who failed to participate for a second consecutive year. This followed the tournament's recent tradition of inviting other African nations to take part once a CECAFA nation pulled out; Malawi were invited to take part in the previous edition held in Uganda, while they and Zimbabwe took part in 2011 after Eritrea withdrew from the competition. (Full article...)

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Kenya Airways Mount Kenya Nairobi National Park Ruins of Gedi Msambweni Lamu Fort Kenya at the 2006 Winter Olympics

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Josiah Mwangi Kariuki (21 March 1929 – 2 March 1975), popularly referred to as 'JM', was a Kenyan socialist politician during the administration of Jomo Kenyatta's government. He held different government positions from Kenya's independence in 1963 until his assassination in 1975. (Full article...)

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... that Kenyan coffee farmer "Pinkie" Jackson amassed Africa's largest collection of native butterflies?
... that in 2009, Doreen Nabwire became the first Kenyan woman to play professional football in Europe?
... that Kenya Grace shot her first music video after becoming a finalist in a competition?
... that Anthony Vaz was the first flag bearer and team captain for Kenya at the Olympics?
... that the first Olympic volleyball match in more than 16 years for Kenya's Malkia Strikers is being played today in Tokyo against Japan?
... that a European settler in Kenya who tortured a black employee to death in 1920 was sentenced to just two years' imprisonment?

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In the news

Wikinews Kenya portal

23 May 2024 – Kenya–United States relations: President Joe Biden announces during a state visit by President of Kenya William Ruto that he will designate Kenya a major non-NATO ally as it is expected to lead the international intervention in Haiti. (Reuters) (NPR)
5 May 2024 – 2024 Kenya floods: The death toll from the ongoing flooding in Kenya increases to 228. (Reuters)
1 May 2024 – 2024 Kenya floods: The death toll from ongoing flooding in Kenya increases to 181, as more homes and roads are destroyed. (Reuters)
30 April 2024 – 2024 Kenya floods: The death toll from ongoing flooding in Kenya increases to 169, with 91 people reported missing. (The Washington Post)
29 April 2024 – Somali civil war: Five people are killed and five more injured in a bomb attack in El Wak town in Mandera County, northern Kenya, near the border with Somalia. (AP)
29 April 2024 – 2024 Kenya floods: 2024 Kenya dam failure

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Panorama overlooking Tsavo East National Park.

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The following are images from various Kenya-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 11911 map (from History of Kenya)
Image 2President Daniel arap Moi in 1979 (from History of Kenya)
Image 3A traditional Kenyan drum, similar to the Djembe of West Africa. (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 4Orange Democratic Movement leader Prime Minister Omolo Odinga speaking with the Kenyan media. (from History of Kenya)
Image 5BMJ, A US-based award-winning Kenyan actor. His role in South African Post Apartheid play 'Sizwe Bansi is Dead' by Arthol Fugard earned him the best actor award in Oslo, Norway. (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 6The Diocese of Mombasa (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 7Traditional dancers in Nairobi (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 8Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga speaking to the Kenyan media. (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 9Traditional Kenyan decorative calabashes (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 10Maasai woman in traditional headdress and attire. (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 11Ugali, served here with beef and sauce, is a mainstay of the cuisine throughout the African Great Lakes region. (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 12Kenyan dancers performing a traditional dance (from Culture of Kenya)
Image 13Mwai Kibaki and (the late) Mrs. Lucy Kibaki with US President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush at the White House during a state visit in 2003. (from History of Kenya)
Image 14Kenya demography (1961–2003) (from History of Kenya)
Image 15Filmmaker Nathan Collett (with camera) shooting feature film Togetherness Supreme in collaboration with Kibera youth trainees. (from Culture of Kenya)