Kenyan anti-riot police officers patrol close to the Kibera informal settlement amid protests over high food prices in March 2023 in Nairobi.
Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images
President Ruto’s re-awakening of class identities has shifted the character of Kenya’s politics in ways even he could not have predicted.
Mama Ngina Kenyatta.
The Star/Kenya
You can count on Mama Ngina Kenyattta to defend the family name, in good times and bad.
Motorcycle taxis queue for fuel in Nairobi in April amid shortages.
Photo by Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images
With Uhuru Kenyatta leaving office to make way for a new leader, it was always going to be an eventful year for Kenya.
A Kenyan judicial nominee to the East African Court of Justice, Charles Nyachae, is sworn in before a summit of regional leaders in Kampala in 2018.
Kenya Presidential Communication Service
The East African Court of Justice has been a keen promoter of the rule of law, democracy and human rights.
William Ruto has promised to set aside US$500 million every year to fund micro, small and medium enterprises. Donwilson Odhiambo via
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Kenya’s new president campaigned on economic promises, but meeting them won’t be easy or instant.
Raila Odinga, the Azimio La Umoja (One Kenya Coalition Party) coalition presidential candidate.
Photo by Ed Ram/Getty Images
Odinga’s legal petitions have entrenched the rule of law and and deepened democracy in Kenya.
Kenyan President-elect William Ruto at a press conference after the Supreme Court decision.
Daniel Irungu/EPA-EFE
The 2022 election proved that the country’s situation and its people have changed since the violence that marred past elections.
Simon Maina/AFP/GettyImages
In Kenya’s parliamentary system, lack of a clear party majority makes it hard for a president to deliver on election promises.
A section of Kenya’s Mau Forest complex that has been cleared for human settlement.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
Political interests have informed conservation policies in one of East Africa’s most important water towers, the Mau Forest Complex.
William Ruto speaks after being declared the winner of Kenya’s close-fought presidential election.
Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images
The division within the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the fact that the race was very close, and turnout was relatively low may increase incentives to challenge the results.
President Uhuru Kenyatta waves to supporters upon his arrival to take oath for second term on November 28, 2017. Photo by SIMON MAINA/AFP via
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The most prominent economic legacy of Kenyatta’s government is runaway public debt.
GettyImages.
Kenya is not unlike any other country where democratic deepening requires a ‘two-steps forward, one-step back’ outlook.
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That there is no clear favourite to win shows the campaigning has been relatively free and competitive.
Photo by Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images
Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp are reframing democracy and the way citizens engage and organise in the digital space.
Kenyans take to the streets in the capital, Nairobi, to call for peaceful August 2022 elections.
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Patronage politics, a history of violent conflict and high-stakes elections increase the risks of poll violence in Kenya.
Uhuru Kenyatta (centre) holds hands with opinion polls’ favourites, Deputy President William Ruto (left) and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images
Kenya’s ethnic-based politics often leads to electoral violence that hurts regional trade.
Kenyans protest rising food prices and call for urgent government action in Nairobi in May 2022.
Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images
The economy has taken centre stage in Kenya’s 2022 elections, but political promises have fallen short of offering realistic solutions.
A Kenyan elections official registers a voter’s details.
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The presence of fringe presidential contenders is a marker of maturing democracies.