Kenya After Independence

So many African countries were under the rule of the colonial masters and Kenya was not an exception. Many African nations wanted to gain their independence which is freedom from their colonial masters and with the help of the founding president and liberation icon Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya gained their Independence on December 12, 1963 from the United Kingdom. Kenya is located in the Eastern part of Africa bordering the Indian Ocean between Somalia and Tanzania. The capital of Kenya is Nairobi and Kenya has a population of about 39,002,772 people. The country is blessed with natural resources such as Limestone, soda ash, salt, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, and hydropower. Kenya’s total land area is about 569,140 sq km while the total land area is about 11,227 sq km which gives it a total of 580,367 sq km.

Though Kenya had problems after independence, they still achieved a reasonable amount or degree of political stability under the one party rule of Jomo Kenyatta. Kenyatta allowed foreign investors to remit profits and to own properties even though sometimes on condition of government co-ownership. He also struck a deal with Britain to help finance a massive land purchase which included the transfer of land of 6,070 sq km of land and it fostered a privileged class of African plantation owners. He also spent a third of the national budget on education in the country. Under Kenyatta’s presidency, Kenya’s economic performance was better than most African countries as at that time. Despite the fact that there were severe drought, two oil shocks, ethnic conflict and border skirmishes, the rate of economic growth was among the highest in the continent.

After Kenyatta’s death in 1978, the vice president Daniel arap Moi suc...

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...with other African countries.

Illicit drugs are a problem Kenya is facing. There is a widespread harvesting of small plots of marijuana: transit country for South Asian heroin and its destination is for Europe and North America. India methaqualone ( a hypnotic drug) also transits on way to South Africa. This is a significant potential for money-laundering activity given the Kenya status as a regional financial centre, massive corruption and relatively high level of narcotics associated activities. Kenya has the problem of young girls turning into prostitutes in order to make “big bucks”. Kenya is also faced with social problems and reproductive hazards are one of the many other social as well as health problems that Kenya is suffering through. Due to this, many young mothers are dying because of lack of proper medical attention they deserve at that critical moment.