Portal:Kenya

Kenya portal
Kenya portal

Introduction

Location of Kenya
The flag of Kenya

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...)


Tea pickers in Kenya's Mount Kenya region, for the Two Degrees Up project, to look at the impact of climate change on agriculture.

Climate change is posing an increasing threat to global socio-economic development and environmental sustainability. Developing countries with low adaptive capacity and high vulnerability to the phenomenon are disproportionately affected. Climate change in Kenya is increasingly impacting the lives of Kenya's citizens and the environment. Climate Change has led to more frequent extreme weather events like droughts which last longer than usual, irregular and unpredictable rainfall, flooding and increasing temperatures.

The effects of these climatic changes have made already existing challenges with water security, food security and economic growth even more difficult. Harvests and agricultural production which account for about 33% of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are also at risk. The increased temperatures, rainfall variability in arid and semi-arid areas, and strong winds associated with tropical cyclones have combined to create favorable conditions for the breeding and migration of pests. An increase in temperature of up to 2.5 °C by 2050 is predicted to increase the frequency of extreme events such as floods and droughts. (Full article...)
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Cheetahs Sunset
Cheetahs Sunset
Cheetahs during sunset in Maasai Mara, Narok County, Kenya.

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Muranga County showing the landscape
Muranga County showing the landscape

Muranga County is one of the counties of Kenya's former Central Province. Its largest town is Makuyu but its capital is Murang'a, called Fort Hall in colonial times (before 1963). It is inhabited mainly by and is considered the home of the Kikuyu, the largest community in Kenya. The county has a population of 942,581 (2009 census). (Read more...)

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View of the coast from Msambweni Beach Hotel

Msambweni (meaning "land of Msambwe") in Swahili) is a small fishing town and constituency in Kwale County of southeastern Kenya, formerly in Kwale District of Coast Province. The origin of the name, Msambwe (plural Misambwe) is a hardy and wild fruits (sambwe) tree indigenous to Msambweni. A few remnants of the Msambwe trees are still existing at Mkunguni Beach, Sawa Sawa Village. By road, Msambweni is 55.4 kilometres (34.4 mi) south of Mombasa and 46.5 kilometres (28.9 mi) northeast of Lunga Lunga on the Tanzanian border. As of 2009, the town had a population of 11,985 people.

Fishing is the primary source of income, although coconut palm, buxa coloring, cashew nuts and fruits are produced for trade. Because of its reef and extensive beaches, the snorkeling industry is gaining in popularity in Msambweni, and holiday cottages and hotels have sprung up in the area, such as the Msambweni Beach House. The town is noted for its leprosarium and contains the Msambweni District Hospital. The Koromojo Dam is immediately north of the town. (Full article...)

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Gathegi in 2009
Edi Mūe Gathegi (born March 10, 1979) is a Kenyan-American actor. He appeared as a recurring character, Dr. Jeffrey Cole (aka "Big Love"), in the television series House, as Cheese in the 2007 film Gone Baby Gone, Laurent in the films Twilight and its sequel The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and as Darwin in X-Men: First Class. Gathegi also featured in the AMC series Into the Badlands as Baron Jacobee. He has also been a recurring character in the NBC television series The Blacklist as Matias Solomon, an operative for a covert organization. Gathegi reprised the role in the 2016–2017 season crime thriller, The Blacklist: Redemption. He has also played a leading role in Startup, a television drama series on Crackle. Since 2022, Gathegi has played engineer and entrepreneur Dev Ayesa in the Apple TV+ original science fiction space drama series For All Mankind. He is set to play the role of Mister Terrific in James Gunn's film Superman (2025). (Full article...)
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In the news

Wikinews Kenya portal
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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
At least 45 people are killed and dozens of others are missing following a dam burst in Mai Mahiu, Kenya, amid ongoing heavy rains and flash floods in the country, which have killed more than 120 people. (Al Jazeera) (The New York Times)

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