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

1 1 (March 22, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govegry0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congr ssianaI Research Servim dnrnin g hej leIativ debate sin 1914 Updated March 22, 2022 Kenya Successive U.S. Administrations have viewed Kenya as a strategic partner and critical to counterterrorism efforts in East Africa. It is sub-Saharan Africa's third largest economy, a regional finance and transportation hub, and a top tourism destination known for its biodiversity. Kenya holds a nonpermanent seat on the U.N. Security Council until 2023, and is home to one of four major U.N. offices worldwide. It hosts the largest U.S. embassy in Africa and U.S. forces supporting regional counterterrorism efforts. Kenya ranks among the top U.S. aid recipients globally. The country's reputation as an anchor state in a volatile region has been threatened by periodic domestic turmoil, including ethnic tensions and election violence. Economic frustrations, corruption, and other abuses of power have fueled grievances among the diverse population. Perceived impunity has also been a source of tension with donors. President Uhuru Kenyatta was reelected to a second five- year term in 2017 in polls marred by violence, allegations of rigging, and police brutality-the latest in a series of flawed election processes since 2007. The 2017 elections tested the independence of Kenya's judiciary and spurred questions about its democratic trajectory. A subsequent deal between Kenyatta and longtime opposition leader Raila Odinga (sons of Kenya's first president and vice president, respectively) lessened tensions, and has led to a major reconfiguration of political allegiances. Kenyatta, who faces term limits, has endorsed Odinga's bid for the presidency (his fifth) in the upcoming August 2022 elections over that of Deputy President William Ruto, who also seeks the post. The Somalia-based Al Qaeda affiliate Al Shabaab poses a persistent threat in Kenya, which contributes troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). High- profile attacks in Nairobi-on a mall in 2013 and on a hotel complex in 2019-underscore Al Shabaab's reach. A U.S. servicemember and two U.S. contractors were killed in a January 2020 attack on Manda Bay Airfield, a Kenyan base near the Somali border used by the U.S. military. Al Shabaab says its attacks are retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia; it labels Kenyan and U.S. military operations there as part of a Western crusade against Muslims. Studies suggest that security force abuses contribute to radicalization and extremist recruitment in Kenya. See also CRS In Focus IF10170, Al Shabaab. Background Kenya was essentially a one-party state from 1964 to 1991. Its long-serving second president, Daniel arap Moi, dominated Kenyan politics through repression and electoral manipulation until he retired under donor pressure in 2002. Elections that year were hailed as historic: for the first time, Kenya's fractious and primarily ethnically based opposition parties came together, defeating Moi's chosen successor, Uhuru Kenyatta. That coalition unraveled after the elections, however, and a political storm fueled by ethnic grievances was brewing as the next elections approached. F 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 17% of the population), is perceived as historically dominating the political class and business community. Under Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta, the Kikuyu were seen to benefit disproportionately from the allocation of state resources, namely land and government jobs and contracts. When Moi, Kenyatta's third vice president, took office after his death in 1978, Moi's Kalenjin group was seen as favored. For almost 40 years, the heartlands of these communities- the central highlands for the Kikuyu and adjacent central Rift Valley for the Kalenjin-received the greatest state investment in schools, roads, and health services. Other areas were marginalized and remained comparatively underdeveloped, including the predominantly Muslim coast and northeast, and western Kenya, home to the second and fourth largest ethnic groups, the Luhya and Luo. This dynamic of ethnic favoritism reinforced divisions. No ethnic group constitutes a large enough voting bloc for its political leaders to gain or maintain power alone; they must form alliances, which periodically shift. Ethnic identity, rather than ideology, is widely seen as the primary line of cleavage in political alignment and voting behavior. The crisis that followed Kenya's 2007 elections is relevant to understanding its politics today. Realignments ahead of those polls created a particularly volatile ethnic dynamic, and when the incumbent, President Mwai Kibaki (a Kikuyu), was declared the winner of a close race amid charges of rigging, opposition protests turned violent. The violence occurred largely along ethnic lines in urban areas and parts of the country where Kikuyu had settled after independence. Some of the worst of it was in the Rift Valley, between Kikuyu and Kalenjin, whose politicians had supported the opposition candidate, Raila Odinga (a Luo). In six weeks, 1,300 people were killed, and 600,000 were displaced. Police were implicated in hundreds of deaths. Kenya was paralyzed for months before Kofi Annan mediated a power-sharing deal in which Kibaki formed a

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