KENYA

officially Republic of Kenya, Swahili Jamhuri Ya Kenya African country along the Indian Ocean, covering an area of 224,961 square miles (582,646 square km). The capital is Nairobi. Situated astride the equator on the East African coast, Kenya is bounded by Ethiopia and The Sudan on the north, by Somalia and the Indian Ocean on the east, by Tanzania on the south, and by Uganda on the west. The population in 1990 was estimated to be 24,872,000. officially Republic of Kenya, Swahili Jamhuri ya Kenya, strategically located country of East Africa. Bisected horizontally by the equator and vertically by the 38th meridian (east), it is bordered on the north by Ethiopia and The Sudan, on the west by Uganda and Lake Victoria, on the south by Tanzania, and on the east by the Indian Ocean and Somalia. Kenya has an area of 224,961 square miles (582,646 square kilometres). The capital is Nairobi. Kenya's present boundaries, the product of rivalries between colonial European powers, contain a number of ethnically diverse peoples who are independent and proud of their cultural heritage. Yet Kenyans are also acutely aware of the need to forge a strong national identity, of which cooperation is a basic ingredient. Since independence in 1963, the government has rallied the people under a national motto of Harambee, or Pulling together. Postcolonial development has been a mixture of pragmatic economic policy and of communal effort based on the principle of self-help. In this way the republic has tried to strengthen its traditional agricultural base as a foundation for industrialization. In addition, it continues to promote tourism, for the beauty and variety of Kenya's landscape, the pleasant and sunny climate, and the impressive dances and music of the Kenyan people are among the sure foundations that attract a growing stream of tourists to the country. Additional reading An up-to-date source of general information, Kenya: An Official Handbook (1988), was published on the 25th anniversary of independence. Guy Arnold, Modern Kenya (1981), gives a general survey of the country and its politics. Francis F. Ojany and Reuben B. Ogendo, Kenya: A Study in Physical and Human Geography (1973); D.C. Edwards and A.V. Bogdan, Important Grassland Plants of Kenya (1951); and Richard S. Odingo, The Kenya Highlands: Land Use and Agricultural Development (1971), analyze geographic and agricultural features. Population studies include S.H. Ominde, Land and Population Movements in Kenya (1968), an early comprehensive study on the subject of migration, and The Population of Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda (1975), the only comprehensive source on the population of what was formerly the East African Community; S.H. Ominde, Roushdi A. Henin, and David F. Sly (eds.), Population and Development in Kenya (1984), a useful focus on development implications of population growth; and S.H. Ominde (ed.), Kenya's Population Growth and Development to the Year 2000 (1988), an in-depth study. Simeon Hongo Ominde Administration and social conditions Government Kenya reached independence on Dec. 12, 1963, under a constitution that placed the prime minister at the head of a cabinet chosen by a bicameral National Assembly. A great deal of power was granted to assemblies elected in each of the country's regions, and multiparty contests were allowed. Since independence a series of amendments has abolished the regional assemblies in favour of provincial commissions appointed by the national government, made the National Assembly a unicameral body, proclaimed the Kenya African National Union (KANU) the only legal political party, and replaced the prime minister with an executive president who has the power to dismiss at will the attorney general and senior judges. The effect of these changes has been to establish the central governmentin particular, the presidencyas the principal locus of political power in the country. The constitution guarantees a number of rights such as the freedoms of speech, assembly, and worship, but it also allows the president to detain without trial persons who have been deemed a threat to public security. Membership in KANU is a requirement for anybody seeking election or appointment to public office. Several candidates from the party are often allowed to contest a single office, but any candidate who receives more than 70 percent of the votes in a nominating election goes through the final election unopposed. The executive branch consists of the president and the cabinet ministers, all of whom are selected by the president from the National Assembly. The president is the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. (By custom he is also the head of KANU.) He is elected by direct popular vote to a term of five years. Through the cabinet, he controls the passage of legislation as well as the huge bureaucracies directing the economy and provincial affairs. Cabinet ministers frequently change portfolios, leaving the administration of the ministries to civil servants. The National Assembly consists of 188 members elected by universal adult suffrage, 12 members appointed by the president, and two ex officio members: the speaker and the attorney general, the latter having no voting privileges. Terms are five years. Through his appointed legislators, cabinet ministers, and scores of assistant ministers, the president is virtually assured a working majority. The judiciary is headed by the chief justice and 11 puisne, or associate, justices of the High Court, which has full civil and criminal jurisdiction and rules on constitutional matters. The Court of Appeal, consisting of the chief justice and several associates, is the highest appeals court in the land. At lower levels are resident magistrates' and district magistrates' courts. Kenya's judicial system acknowledges the validity of Islamic law and indigenous African customs in many personal areas such as marriage, divorce, and matters affecting dependents. Local government consists of appointed provincial and district commissioners, elected county, municipal, and town councils, and elected township or municipal authorities. The provincial commissioners are responsible for education, transport, and health in their provinces, while the councils are concerned with services and public works funded by local taxes and grants from the central government. Education A single national educational system consists of three educational levels. At the first are eight years of primary education. These are followed by four years of secondary education, and the third level is represented by four years of university education. When primary schooling is completed, entrance to the secondary level is contingent upon passing an examination. Primary and secondary enrollment have expanded markedly with the growing population, severely straining the government's ability to provide occupational training for the slower-growing job market. As accommodations in government-built secondary schools are limited, community-built harambee secondary schools, which now outnumber government secondary schools, have taken up much of the expansion. The harambee schools receive liberal government assistance in the provision of teachers and learning materials. Public universities include Nairobi, Kenyatta, Moi (formerly Eldoret), and Egerton universities as well as Jomo Kenyatta College of Agriculture and Technology. Cultural life Kenya, a country of diverse and rich cultural traditions, seeks to cultivate and develop those traditions to ensure that its valuable cultural assets are not irretrievably lost and that social cohesion is not undermined in the process of change to newer ways. A National Archive Service has been established, and it is saving an increasing number of documents. A national library service board has also been established to equip, maintain, and develop libraries in Kenya, including a branch library service. Kenya's national museum contains collections of wildlife, archaeological remains, and objects of material culture. The Kenya National Theatre is incorporated in the Kenya Cultural Centre. The National Theatre School was founded in 1968 to provide professional training in theatrical techniques, which include the writing of plays by Kenyan authors and the performance of traditional music and dance. Music and dance play an integral role in social and religious life. Rhythm, all-important, is largely provided by the drum, supplemented by wind and stringed instruments. Swahili literature, both oral and written, is traditional in form and content. Contemporary novelists, including Ngugi wa Thiong'o and Mugo Gatheru, deal with the social frictions between traditional and modern society. Visual arts are largely confined to the mass production of wood sculpture for the tourist trade. Elimo Njau and Ronal Rankin are popular Kenyan painters. Simeon Hongo Ominde