About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (January 16, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govbcxu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: '. ~**\**\ &~ ~ riE SE .$rCh &~ ~ ~ gognpo go g , q 's a X 11LULANJILiN, Updated January 16, 2020 Kenya The U.S. government considers Kenya a strategic partner and key regional actor in East Africa, and critical to counterterrorism efforts in the region. Kenya is sub-Saharan Africa's third largest economy, a regional finance and transportation hub, and a top tourism destination. Its capital, Nairobi, is home to one of four major United Nations offices worldwide and serves as a base for regional humanitarian efforts. It also hosts the largest U.S. diplomatic mission in Africa. Kenya ranks among the top U.S. foreign aid recipients globally and is one of the largest African recipients of U.S. counterterrorism assistance. Kenya's reputation as an anchor state in a volatile region has been threatened by periodic electoral violence and ethnic tensions. Economic frustrations and abuses of power have fueled grievances among the diverse population, and perceived impunity from justice has been a trigger for violence. Corruption constrains economic development. Accountability shortfalls have also been a source of tension with donors, including the United States. Flawed election processes have undermined public trust. Elections in 2017 were marred by violence and allegations of rigging and police brutality, and subsequent government actions prompted questions about Kenya's democratic trajectory. Tensions have lessened as political allegiances shift ahead of the next elections, scheduled for 2022. The Somalia-based Al Qaeda affiliate Al Shabaab poses a persistent threat in Kenya, which contributes troops to the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Al Shabaab's assault on a Kenyan university in 2015 was the deadliest terror attack in the country since the 1998 U.S. embassy bombing. The 2013 siege of Nairobi's Westgate Mall and the 2019 attack on the DusitD2 hotel complex underscored Al Shabaab's reach. In January 2020, a U.S. service member and two U.S. contractors were killed in an Al Shabaab attack on Manda Bay Airfield, a Kenyan base used by the U.S. military near the Somali border. The group has described Kenyan and U.S. military operations in Somalia as part of a Western crusade against Muslims. Studies suggest that security force abuses in the context of anti- terrorism efforts have fueled radicalization in parts of Kenya. See also CRS In Focus IF10170, Al Shabaab. Kenya was essentially a one-party state from 1964 to 1991. Long-serving President Daniel arap Moi retained his party's dominance, in part through electoral manipulation and repression, until he retired under donor pressure in 2002. Elections that year were hailed as marking a shift in Kenya's democratic trajectory. For the first time, the country's fractious and primarily ethnically based opposition parties came together to defeat Moi's chosen successor, Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta. That coalition slowly unraveled, however, and a political storm fueled by ethnic grievances was brewing as the next elections approached, in 2007. Figure I. Kenya Facts Comparative ars sitvsie t. an Iewas Qifficisi languages: rgih~Ksam Re.igions. C:3?~iistzai 33J , Mn 37t'-,, Life exptctancw-Y !3A LUtsra Cy 720%. GOP, GDP growth, GDP per capita 3 9bhkS6 , q$8 Sources: CRS, with data from CIA and IMF reference databases. Kenya is home to over 50 ethnic groups; none constitutes a majority. The largest group, the Kikuyu (roughly 20% of the population), is perceived as historically dominating the political class and business community. Under President Jomno Kenyatta, a Kikuyu, the group was seen to benefit disproportionately from the allocation of state resources, namely land and government jobs and contracts. When Moi, his vice president, assumed office after Kenyatta's death in 1978, benefits shifted to his people, a smaller group of ethnicities collectively referred to as the Kalenjin. For almost 40 years, the heartlands of these communities- the central highlands for the Kikuyu and the central Rift Valley for the Kalenjin-received the greatest state investment in schools, roads, and health services. Other areas were marginalized and remain comparatively underdeveloped, such as the predominantly Muslim northeastern and coastal areas, and western Kenya, which is home to the second and third largest ethnic groups, the Luhya and Luo. Some Kenyans refer to the dynamic of ethnic favoritism, which reinforced a focus on tribe, with such colloquial phrases as It's our turn to eat. No ethnic group constitutes a large enough voting block for its political leaders to gain or maintain power alone; they must form alliances, which periodically shift. Many of today's politicians lhave mioved between government and opposition since the Moi era. Realignments prior to the December 2007 elections created a volatile ethnic dynamic, and when incumbent President Mwai Kibaki (a Kikuyu) was declared the winner of a close presidential race amid charges of rigging, opposition protests turned violent. The violence largely followed ethnic lines in urban areas and parts of the country where Kikuyu had settled after independence. Some of the worst violence was in the Rift Valley, between Kikuyu and Kalenj in, who had supported opposition candidate Raila Odinga (a Luo). Police were K~:>

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most