kenyachris

=]= =Welcome to Kenya= Kenya is a beautiful country with so many fun things to do. It has a tropical climate all year round so weather will never hinder your plans. Some of the great attractions of kenya include safaris, beautiful beachers, Gedi Ruins, and fantastic shopping. Kenya is a place where you can have the time of your life and make plenty of memories for ever.

Kenya is bordered by four countries Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Tanzania. It also touches the Indian Ocean, Lake Victoria, and Lake Turkana.

=Background= Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo Kenyatta led Kenya from independence in 1963 until his death in 1978, when President Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi took power in a constitutional succession. The country was a one-party state from 1969 until 1982 when the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) made itself the only legal party in Kenya. Moi acceded to pressure for political liberalization in late 1991. The ethnically fractured opposition failed to dislodge KANU from power in elections in 1992 and 1997. President MOI stepped down in December 2002 following fair and peaceful elections.

=History & Culture= Paleontologist believe that people inhabited Kenya about 2,000,000 years ago.

=TImeline= Evidence of some of the earliest human settlements has been found in Kenya, suggesting that it was the cradle of humanity from which descendents moved out to populate the world.


 * 600** - Arabs begin settling coastal areas, over the centuries developing trading stations which facilitated contact with the Arab world, Persia and India.


 * 16th century** - Portuguese try to establish foothold on Kenyan coast but are driven off by Swahili states and Omani Arabs by late 17th century.


 * 1830s** - Omani Arabs consolidate control of coast.


 * 1895** - Formation of British East African Protectorate.


 * Early 1900s** - White settlers move into highlands, railway built from Mombasa to Lake Victoria.
 * 1920** - East African Protectorate becomes crown colony of Kenya - administered by a British governor.
 * Mau Mau**
 * 1944** - Kenyan African Union (KAU) formed to campaign for African independence. First African appointment to legislative council.
 * 1952** - Secret Kikuyu guerrilla group known as Mau Mau begins violent campaign against white settlers. State of emergency declared. Kenyatta arrested.
 * 1960** - State of emergency ends. Britain announces plans to prepare Kenya for majority African rule. Kenya African national Union (Kanu) formed by Tom Mboya and Oginga Odinga.
 * Independence**
 * 1961** - Kenyatta freed and assumes presidency of Kanu.

August - Army suppresses air force coup attempt. Private Hezekiah Ochuka rules for about six hours.
 * 1963** - Kenya gains independence, with Kenyatta as prime minister.
 * 1964** - Republic of Kenya formed. Kenyatta becomes president and Odinga vice-president.
 * 1974** - Kenyatta re-elected.
 * Moi era begins**
 * 1978** - Kenyatta dies in office, succeeded by Vice-President Daniel arap Moi.
 * 1982** June - Kenya officially declared a one-party state by National Assembly.
 * 1989** - Political prisoners freed.


 * 1994** - Odinga dies. Opposition groups form coalition - the United National Democratic Alliance - but it is plagued by disagreements.

=Location= Sudan and Ethiopia acts as its crown as they lie in the north of Kenya. Somalia lies in east, whereas Lake Victoria and Uganda lies on the west. Indian Ocean in the south east blesses it with pristine beauty and depth and Tanzania in the southwest imparts it with charm and elegance. Kenya is located in 1o 00 N Latitude and 38 o 00 E Longitude. And has an area of 582,650 sq.km.

=Climate= Kenya has a tropical climate. It is hot and humid at the coast, temperate inland and very dry in the north and northeast parts of the country.

=People= The Kikuyu (the largest single group at 22%), the Luo, and the Maasai. The population included three of the four major linguistic groups found in Africa: Bantu (67%), Nilotic (30%) and Cushitic (3%). The population is 36,913,721. Literacy rate is 78.1% of total population (Males:86.3%, Females:70%). Kenya is a multilingual country. Itsofficial languages are Swahilli and English. There are a total of 62 languages spoken in Kenya (according to //Ethnologue//), most being African languages with a minority of Middle-Eastern and Asian languages spoken by descendants of settlers. The population growth rate is 2.758%. The birth rate is37.89 births/1,000 population The death rate is 10.3 deaths/1,000 population.The migration rate is 1 migrant/1,000 population. Life expectancy is 56.64 years.

=Government= The leader of Kenya is President Mwai Kibaki and the type of government is a republic. The suffrage of Kenya is 18 years old. The executive and legislative powers are divided so as to promote three main principles; namely, a strong national leadership which must exist and be collectively responsible to Parliament, and that Parliament must be supreme. The President and his Cabinet govern with the support of the majority in Parliament. The Parliament remains supreme as the only law making body in Kenya and as such exercises control of public finances.

=Trade= The Kenya currency unit is the shilling, divided in 100 cents. The Kenyan does not change much over time. One US dollar equals about 65 Kenyan shilling, one Euro is 95 shilling, and 1 British pound is about 125 shilling. Kenya's main exports include tea, coffee, horticultural products, hides and skins, pyrethrum, pineapples, beer, among others. It's main imports are Industrial machinery, crude petroleum, motor vehicles and transport equipment, minerals, iron and steel, chemicals, food and manufactured goods.

Kenya is bordered by four countries Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Tanzania. It also touches the Indian Ocean, Lake Victoria, and Lake Turkana.

=Bibliography= 1. [] 2. Kenya, Victorie, Perr. Garreth Stevens, 1999. 3. [] 4. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24094517/ 5. http://www.eoearth.org/article/Kenya 6. http://www.kenya-advisor.com/kenya-currency.html 7. [] 8. []