Portal:Kenya

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Kenya portal
Kenya portal

Introduction

Location of Kenya
The flag of Kenya

Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya (Swahili: Jamhuri ya Kenya), is a country in East Africa. With a population of more than 47.6 million in the 2019 census, Kenya is the 28th most populous country in the world and 7th most populous in Africa. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi, while its oldest and second largest city, is the major port city of Mombasa, situated on Mombasa Island in the Indian Ocean and the surrounding mainland. Mombasa was the capital of the British East Africa Protectorate, which included most of what is now Kenya and southwestern Somalia, from 1889 to 1907. Other important cities include Kisumu and Nakuru. Kenya is bordered by South Sudan to the northwest, Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. Kenya's geography, climate and population vary widely, ranging from cold snow-capped mountaintops (Batian, Nelion and Point Lenana on Mount Kenya) with vast surrounding forests, wildlife and fertile agricultural regions to temperate climates in western and rift valley counties and further on to dry less fertile arid and semi-arid areas and absolute deserts (Chalbi Desert and Nyiri Desert).

Kenya's earliest inhabitants were hunter-gatherers, like the present-day Hadza people. According to archaeological dating of associated artifacts and skeletal material, Cushitic speakers first settled in Kenya's lowlands between 3,200 and 1,300 BC, a phase known as the Lowland Savanna Pastoral Neolithic. Nilotic-speaking pastoralists (ancestral to Kenya's Nilotic speakers) began migrating from present-day South Sudan into Kenya around 500 BC. Bantu people settled at the coast and the interior between 250 BC and 500 AD.

European contact began in 1500 AD with the Portuguese Empire, and effective colonisation of Kenya began in the 19th century during the European exploration of the interior. Modern-day Kenya emerged from a protectorate established by the British Empire in 1895 and the subsequent Kenya Colony, which began in 1920. Numerous disputes between the UK and the colony led to the Mau Mau revolution, which began in 1952, and the declaration of independence in 1963. After independence, Kenya remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The current constitution was adopted in 2010 and replaced the 1963 independence constitution.

Kenya is a presidential representative democratic republic, in which elected officials represent the people and the president is the head of state and government. Kenya is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, COMESA, International Criminal Court, as well as other international organisations. With a GNI of 1,840, Kenya is a lower-middle-income economy. Kenya's economy is the second largest in eastern and central Africa, after Ethiopia, with Nairobi serving as a major regional commercial hub. Agriculture is the largest sector; tea and coffee are traditional cash crops, while fresh flowers are a fast-growing export. The service industry is also a major economic driver, particularly tourism. Kenya is a member of the East African Community trade bloc, though some international trade organisations categorise it as part of the Greater Horn of Africa. Africa is Kenya's largest export market, followed by the European Union. (Full article...)


Front view of the hotel

The Stanley Hotel (currently called the Sarova Stanley) is a five-star hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the oldest hotel in the city, having been established in 1902 by English businesswoman Mayence Bent, when the city was a railway halt. It is named after Sir Henry Morton Stanley, a Welsh explorer who is best known for his explorations of central Africa and his successful search for missionary and explorer David Livingstone.

Since the early 1900s, the Stanley Hotel has been known as the traditional meeting place for those going on safari in Kenya. It has played host to royalty, politicians, movie stars, and authors. It is still used for national business conferences and tourism concerns. (Full article...)
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Sunset at Lake Victoria
Sunset at Lake Victoria
Sunset at Lake Victoria, Kenya.

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Sunset at Tsavo East National Park mostly located in Kitui County
Sunset at Tsavo East National Park mostly located in Kitui County

Kitui County is a county of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kitui, although Mwingi is also another major urban centre. The county has a population of 1,012,709 (2009 census) and an area of 20,402 km². (Read more...)

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A lion in Nairobi National Park, December 2016

Nairobi National Park is a national park in Kenya that was established in 1946 about 7 km (4.3 mi) south of Nairobi. It is fenced on three sides, whereas the open southern boundary allows migrating wildlife to move between the park and the adjacent Kitengela plains. Herbivores gather in the park during the dry season. Nairobi National Park is negatively affected by increasing human and livestock populations, changing land use and poaching of wildlife.

Despite its proximity to the city and its relative small size, it boasts a large and varied wildlife population, and is one of Kenya's most successful rhinoceros sanctuaries. (Full article...)

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Jua Cali during a photo shoot for his album, Ngeli ya Genge in 2009
Paul Julius Nunda (born 12 September 1979), better known by his stage name Jua Cali, is a Kenyan rapper and record producer. In 2000, together with record producer Clemo, he founded Calif Records where he has been ever since producing music which dominated East African music alongside Jose Chameleone of Uganda and Mr. Nice of Tanzania. Jua Cali performs in Swahili and Sheng in a popular Kenyan style of rapping called genge. (Full article...)
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In the news

Wikinews Kenya portal
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5 May 2024 – 2024 Kenya floods
The death toll from the ongoing flooding in Kenya increases to 228. (Reuters)
1 May 2024 – 2024 Kenya floods
The death toll from ongoing flooding in Kenya increases to 181, as more homes and roads are destroyed. (Reuters)
30 April 2024 – 2024 Kenya floods
The death toll from ongoing flooding in Kenya increases to 169, with 91 people reported missing. (The Washington Post)
29 April 2024 – Somali civil war
Five people are killed and five more injured in a bomb attack in El Wak town in Mandera County, northern Kenya, near the border with Somalia. (AP)
29 April 2024 – 2024 Kenya floods
2024 Kenya dam failure
At least 45 people are killed and dozens of others are missing following a dam burst in Mai Mahiu, Kenya, amid ongoing heavy rains and flash floods in the country, which have killed more than 120 people. (Al Jazeera) (The New York Times)

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Credit: Trees ForTheFuture
Nakuru, is the largest urban centre in midwestern Kenya and the fourth largest urban centre in the country.

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