Republic of Kenya: Map & History

History

Hominid species, such as Homo habilis (fl. 1.8 to 2.5 million years ago) and Homo erectus (fl. 1.9 million to 350,000 years ago), possibly the direct ancestors of modern Homo sapiens, had lived in Kenya in the Pleistocene epoch. East Africa, including Kenya, is one of the earliest regions where modern humans (Homo sapiens) are believed to have lived. In 1984, during excavations at Lake Turkana palaeoanthropologist Richard Leakey, assisted by Kamoya Kimeu, discovered the Turkana Boy, a 1.6-million-year-old Homo erectus fossil.

Government and politics

Kenya is a presidential representative democratic republic with a multi-party system. The president is head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the government, the National Assembly and the Senate. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. There has been growing concern, especially during former president Daniel arap Moi's tenure, that the executive was increasingly meddling with the affairs of the judiciary.

Kenya has high levels of corruption according to Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), a metric which attempts to gauge the prevalence of public-sector corruption in various countries.

Economy

Kenya's macroeconomic outlook has steadily posted robust growth over the past few decades mostly from road, rail, air and water transport infrastructure projects as well as massive investments in Information and Communication Technology. The Kenyan economy is the largest in East Africa. After independence, Kenya promoted rapid economic growth through public investment, encouraged smallholder agricultural production and provided incentives for private industrial investment. Kenya is East Africa's regional transportation and financial hub. Kenya's financial sector is vibrant, well developed and diversified boasting the highest financial inclusion in the region and globally.

Foreign investments in Kenya remain relatively weak considering the size of its economy and its level of development.

Culture

The culture of Kenya comprises multiple traditions from 42 (+) tribes. Kenya has no single prominent culture. It instead consists of the various cultures of the country's different communities.

Notable populations include the Swahili on the coast, several other Bantu communities in the central and western regions, and Nilotic communities in the northwest. The Maasai culture is well known to tourism, despite constituting a relatively small part of Kenya's population. They are renowned for their elaborate upper-body adornment and jewellery.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is one of Kenya's best-known writers. His novel Weep Not, Child depicts life in Kenya during the British occupation.