Modern-day Kenya

Colonial History: Modern-day Kenya was first colonized by the Imperial British East Africa Company as the British East Africa Protectorate on 1st July 1895.Under British rule, Kenya was subject to harsh social, economic, and political policies. Racial discrimination protected under the law was also widespread. Large amounts of land were set aside only for White Europeans, and blacks were forced to work for minimal wages on poor farms. However, these conditions strengthened the Kenyan’s desire for independence, so the British colonial government produced constitutional proposals to let Africans directly elect their representatives.

In the elections or 1957, the first election under this new constitution, eight prominent African leaders (including the future President Daniel Moi) were elected. They then formed an organization to fight for independence, called the Kenya African National Union (KANU). Eventually, due to pressure from KANU, the British granted Kenya its independence on December 12, 1963.

Political Organization: Kenya is Representative Democracy and Presidential Republic. The nation has a multi-party political system under one Parliament, a President (Uhuru Kenyatta), a Deputy President (William Ruto), and a Presidential-appointed Cabinet. The Parliament of Kenya, which makes up the legislative branch of the country, consists of the National Assembly and the Senate. The National Assembly has 349 members plus the Speaker and each member is elected by the registered voters of single member constituencies. Forty-seven women are also elected from the counties, and twelve members are nominated to represent the disabled, the young, and the workers. The Senate consists of sixty-seven members plus the Speaker. The Senate contains forty-seven members each elected by the voters of the counties, sixteen members who are nominated by political parties, two members representing the young, and two members representing the disabled. Both MPs of the Assembly and Senators serve a five-year term.

Shape and Boundary: Kenya has a total of 3,457 kilometers of land boundaries plus a 536 kilometer long border with the Indian Ocean.

It borders a total of five countries: Ethiopia (for 867 km), Somalia (for 684 km), South Sudan (for 317 km), Tanzania (for 775 km), and Uganda (for 814 km). Kenya’s national borders were mostly arbitrarily drawn by British colonialists. However, in certain places, the border is defined by natural topography. For example, the border follows the Dawa River along Ethiopia for a few hundred kilometers. Additionally, the Tanzanian-Kenyan border is also defined by a piece of topography, Mount Kilimanjaro (the highest peak in Africa), of which the border cuts through. Kenya is divided into 47 semi-autonomous counties that are headed by governors. These 47 counties form the first-order divisions of the country. Constituencies are an electoral subdivision and the current second-order division in Kenya. There are a total of 349 Assembly constituencies and 67 Senate constituencies. Kenyan local authorities mostly do not follow common division boundaries. They are classified as either cities, municipalities, or towns. Some local authorities divide their area further into wards.

International Trade: Kenya is the 107th largest export economy in the world according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI). The top exports of Kenya are Tea ($1.15B), Cut Flowers ($653M), Petroleum ($389M), Coffee ($227M) and Legumes ($151M). Its top imports are Refined Petroleum ($2.18B), Cars ($517M), Packaged Medicines ($447M), Video Displays ($438M) and Delivery Trucks ($387M).The top five export destinations are the United States ($556M), Uganda ($534M), the Netherlands ($431M), the United Kingdom ($391M) and Zambia ($390M). The top five import nations are China ($5.92B), India ($3.18B), Japan ($892M), Tanzania ($793M) and South Africa ($604M).International Organizations:Some examples of international organizations that Kenya is a member state of is the African Union (AU), the East African Community (EAC), the United Nations (UN), the East African Development Bank (EADB), and the World Health Organization (WHO).