KenyaLand, People and Politics

Photograph from: http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/countries/kenya/

Information Source: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/world/jan-june08/kenya_crisis_overview.html

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.

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.

“The Kenyan Way of Life--Country of Many Contrast” video (1:20)

• 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

Industries

Ethnic Groups MapKikuyu 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 Kenyan Way of Life—Masai People” video (3:26)

Politics• Kenya gained independence from the United Kingdom on Dec.

12, 1963.

• “The Kenyan Way of Life—British Control and Independence video (2:15)

Social Issues

• 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.

• 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

• 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.

Social Issues

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 (President Mwai Kibaki) 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.