Training

The eight-year compulsory school is formally compulsory. The school became free in 2003 and since then almost all children receive at least a few years of schooling. Reading and writing skills have also increased significantly. Teaching, especially in high school and college, is considered to be of high quality according to African dimensions.

The children should start school at the age of six. Some may be older than that, but almost all of them start school since the fees were abolished after the change of power in 2002. The change led to 1.3 million more students enrolling in teaching that year – an increase of 22 percent compared to the year before.

• COUNTRYAAH: Country facts of Kenya, including geography profile, population statistics, and business data.

Even small expenses for schooling previously made many children completely absent from education. Many poor children still quit school prematurely, as families find it difficult to pay for materials, school uniforms and bus trips to school.

The lack of resources in the school is great; there is a shortage of premises, books and educated teachers. In elementary school there are an average of 57 pupils per teacher. The UN has contributed to specific initiatives to give the nomadic children a chance to attend school, for example by introducing mobile classrooms, increasing the number of boarding schools and by offering children food in school.

Almost half of the children go to preschool for a year before starting first grade. Almost a third of those who have passed eight continue to the four-year high school, which has both vocational and college preparatory courses. However, the absence is high in high school. A few go on to higher education at one of the country’s many universities, colleges or technical institutes.

English is the dominant language of instruction, although some children are taught in local languages ​​at least during the first three school years.

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FACTS – EDUCATION

Proportion of children starting primary school

81.8 percent (2012)

Number of pupils per teacher in primary school

31 (2015)

Reading and writing skills

78.7 percent (2014)

Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP

16.9 percent (2017)

Public expenditure on education as a percentage of the state budget

16.9 percent (2017)

2017

December

Security forces are accused of rape

December 14

Kenyan security forces are accused in a report by Human Rights Watch (They were men in uniform) for having committed rape and other abuses against people in areas where the opposition is strong in Nairobi, Mathare, Kibera, Dandora, Kisumu and Bungoma. In most cases, it was group rape, but the police and other men in uniform were also guilty of torture and serious abuse, according to testimony in the report.

Drought and political turmoil strike the economy

December 11

The World Bank writes down its forecast for economic growth in 2017, from 5.5 percent to 4.7 percent. It is, according to the bank, the lowest growth figure in five years. As an explanation, the World Bank cites drought, difficulties for private companies to obtain credit and a long period of political unrest. However, the bank predicts that a recovery will take place in both 2018 and 2019.

Nasa cancels “presidential ceremony”

December 10

Opposition Alliance Nasa announces that it is postponing the alternative ceremony planned to appoint Raila Odinga as “President” on Kenya’s Independence Day. Representatives of Nasa say that now one should consult with several other actors before proceeding both with the presidential ceremony and in the formation of a people’s assembly.

Opposition strategist is arrested at holiday resort

December 3

Opposition Alliance Nasa political strategist David Ndii is arrested by police at a hotel in Kwale on the south coast, where he is on vacation. The police who arrested Ndii belong to a crime prevention unit and have traveled there from Nairobi.

Ndii has been commissioned by the opposition in Nasa to organize the People’s Assembly where it is supposed that Raila Odinga will be “sworn in” as president. He is also one of Kenyatta’s sharpest critics.

He is released a few days later, but the police investigation continues. According to Odinga, the arrest is part of the government’s attempt to silence the opposition.

November

Continued concern despite conciliatory statements from Kenyatta

November 28

Uhuru Kenyatta is taking up his second term as president and promises to build bridges to reduce fragmentation within the country. Participating in the ceremony include Rwanda President Paul Kagame and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

Police block off a place in Nairobi where the opposition had planned to hold a prayer meeting to honor the victims of the recent political violence, leading to clashes between police and opposition supporters.

Odinga also says he intends to organize a ceremony at another location on December 12, where he himself will be sworn in as president.

The Supreme Court approves the re-election

20th of November

The Supreme Court approves the re-election to the presidential post held on October 26. Chief Judge David Maraga says the court agreed on the decision. That means Kenyatta will be able to take up his second term as president on November 28.

Protests against the decision are breaking out in Nairobi and in western Kenya. At least two people are shot dead in connection with it.

Riot in Nairobi’s slum

November 19

Riot breaks out in Nairobi’s slums since four people, three men and one woman, were found dead in the Mathare area. According to police, it is unclear what has caused their death, but there are suspicions that at least three of the victims were killed after striking a blunt object. Representatives of the opposition claim they were shot dead. According to an anonymous police source quoted by the AFP news agency, the residents of Mathare and Kibera suspect that the murders are ethnically motivated and that they have been carried out by the criminal network Mungiki. Mungiki members, who are kikuys, are accused of being behind much of the violence after the 2007 elections.

Unrest when Odinga returns from abroad

November 17

Five people are killed when police intervene against Odinga supporters gathered in Nairobi to welcome their party leader returning home after a trip abroad. At least two of the victims are reported to have been shot dead. The police deny that they have shot at the protesters and say that the victims should be hit by stones thrown by people who caught them stealing.

Odinga opens a dialogue with Kenyatta about constitutional changes

November 7

Opposition leader Raila Odinga proposes that an interim government be appointed for a six-month period, while at the same time a revision of the constitution should be done to limit the president’s powers. The aim, according to Odinga, is to reduce the risk that minority groups who consider themselves excluded from power will resort to violence. He says he’s prepared to have a dialogue with President Kenyatta about this.

The re-election is appealed to the Supreme Court

November 6

The businessman and former MP Harun Mwau are appealing to the Supreme Court to persuade it to also declare re-election to the presidential post. He argues that it was wrong for one of the candidates to stand on October 26 despite having gone bankrupt and that the Election Commission (IEBC) should have opened the field for new nominations. A similar appeal also comes from the Kenyan branch of the International Law Commission and Khelef Khalifa, the leader of Muslims for human rights. It states, among other things, that a member of the Election Commission has moved the country, and that even its chairman Wafula Chebukati said that the IEBC could not guarantee that the election would go right.

Controversial electoral law comes into force

November 3

The new and controversial changes to the electoral law come into force (see September 2017). President Kenyatta has not actively given his approval, but it is beginning to apply as he has not returned it to Parliament.

Among other things, the change in the law makes it more difficult for the Supreme Court to annul an election that happened after the presidential election in August.

October

Odinga calls for peaceful protests

October 31st

Opposition leader Raila Odinga rejects the result in the re-election which he calls a “scam”. He also talks about his party alliance forming a “national resistance movement” and a people’s assembly to “restore” democracy in the country. He also pleads for peaceful protests, civil disobedience and economic boycotts.

Kenyatta’s rolling victory is declared

October 30th

The Election Commission announces that President Uhuru Kenyatta has been re-elected with 98 percent of the vote. The turnout is reported to have reached 38 percent. Kenya’s rival Raila Odinga, who called for a boycott of the election, received just under 1 percent of the vote, according to the Election Commission. Protests erupt in western Kenya and in Nairobi’s slums when the election results are announced. Since the election day on October 26, nine people have lost their lives in election-related violence.

Still worrying about the election; plans for re-election are canceled

October 27th

Protests against the election continue and two people are shot dead by police. Election Commission President Wafula Chebukati announces that re-election will be held in some of the places where protests prevented the polling stations from opening but change later that day on the grounds that officials’ safety cannot be guaranteed.

Low turnout in the re-election to the presidential post

October 26th

The re-election to the presidential post is scheduled to be held in most of the country, but security is high. Violence occurs in Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa, among others, where protesters meet with police. At least three people are killed, including a teenage boy being shot to death by Kisumu police.

In areas where the opposition is strong, a majority of voters hear Odinga’s call for boycotts. In their quarters, voters are prevented from going to the polling stations by stone-throwing children and young people, and in many quarters many election workers stay at home out of concern to be drawn into the violence. According to Kenyan media, turnout is significantly lower now than it was in August.

No new HD decision on the choice

October 25th

The Supreme Court (HD) cancels a scheduled session, because too few judges appear. HD would, at the last minute, process a request by the Khelef Khalifa of the Muslim Human Rights Organization and several other human rights activists that the election should be postponed for 90 days because the Election Commission is not adequately prepared. Several other appeals would also have been raised.

At least five judges must be present in order for the court to be decision-making. HD’s Vice Chairman belongs to the four who did not show up. The day before, her bodyguard was shot in an assault. However, the judge did not sit in the car when fired.

President of the Election Commission: “We cannot guarantee a fair election”

October 18

Wafula Chebukati, President of the Election Commission, states in a statement that he cannot guarantee that the presidential election on October 26 can be properly conducted and produce a fair result unless parts of the Commission’s permanent staff are replaced.

At the same time, opposition leader Raila Odinga is calling for mass protests during Election Day.

Temporary stop for demonstration ban

October 17

A Nairobi High Court is temporarily suspending the demonstration ban imposed by Security Minister Fred Matiangi in three cities. Matiangi has also threatened to sue a high-ranking Nasa politician Norman Magaya for the damage caused by the protests. The High Court decides that he cannot be arrested before the court decides whether the demonstration ban, which Nasa claims violates the Kenyan constitutional right to protest, is compatible with the law.

Election Commissioner flees Kenya after death threat

October 18

Roselyn Akombe, one of the members of the Election Commission (IEBC), leaves her mission and flees Kenya after receiving death threats. She says that the work within the Commission is completely paralyzed and that IEBC is unable to make any decisions. She further emphasizes that it is not possible for the Election Commission to organize a credible election until October 26.

At least two dead in connection with opposition protests

October 13

On October 11, the government faces a ban on demonstrations in the central parts of Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa. This happens since the opposition urged daily protests to demand electoral reform.

However, smaller groups of opposition supporters choose to defy the ban in, among others, Kisumu and Mombasa, where the police use tear gas to disperse the protesters. About 20 people are injured.

In Bondo, Raila Odinga’s hometown, in the southwest, two people are shot to death by police as they try to storm a police station.

Eight candidates are allowed to take part in the new presidential election

October 11

The confusion is growing around what will apply when the presidential election is re-elected on October 26. The National Assembly has approved the new electoral law (see also September 2017), which states that no new election will be held if a candidate resigns, and that the candidate remaining wins the election. For it to come into force, the approval of the president is also required.

The law will probably not apply to the upcoming presidential election, since Odinga jumped off before the law change had been made. In addition, a court, the High Court, decides that another candidate, Ekuru Aukot, who received less than one percent of the vote in August, may stand. As a result, the Election Commission allows all eight candidates who participated in the August election to participate. This also applies to Odinga who has not yet submitted the official document that must be signed before he can withdraw from the election.

At the same time, the police are putting tear gas on opposition supporters who are demanding electoral reform.

Odinga withdraws from the presidential election

October 10

Raila Odinga announces that he will resign from the new presidential election on October 26. He says he thus wants to give the Election Commission reforms. He also calls on the Kenyans to protest on October 11 under the slogan “no reforms, no elections”.

Uhuru Kenyatta says the election will be held as planned even if Odinga does not stand, and that he is confident that he will receive more votes than in the August election. However, it is unclear if the election will be valid if only one candidate is running. At the same time, Vice President William Ruto calls on the Election Commission to appoint Kenyatta as the winner of the election.

Political unrest beats the economy

October 9

The uncertainty surrounding the election in August led to a decline in economic activity in the country. The same is true even now when the presidential election is about to be redone, while parts of Kenya suffer drought. The government is writing down growth figures slightly from 5.7 percent to 5.5 percent. But some analysts believe it will be lower than then and point out that large public investment hides the fact that consumption is declining.

At least 37 dead in violence after the election

October 9

At least 37 people were killed during three days of unrest following the August 8 election. Some of them were shot dead by police, others were beaten to death with the help of clubs, according to the human rights organization Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

New protests against the Election Commission

October 2

Protests against the IEBC Election Commission, despite criticism from the Supreme Court, to organize the new presidential election in October, occur in both Nairobi and Mombasa. Police are trying to disperse the protesters using tear gas.

Opposition leader Raia Odinga has urged her supporters to protest against IEBC’s role in the election.

September

The opposition criticizes proposals for a new electoral law

September 29th

The government’s proposal for a new electoral law provokes opposition from the Nasa opposition, which says it would change the rules of the game for Kenyan elections. According to the bill quoted in the media, JP proposes that if only one candidate remains in a presidential election, they should be able to be elected president without having to hold elections, but also that it should be punishable when someone refuses to sign election documents with the result, or change or falsify. the. If an election is annulled, such as the August presidential election, only the politician who has filed a petition and has been given the right to stand. If the other persons have filed the petition, all previous candidates may also stand in the new round of elections.

JP, who has his own majority in the National Assembly, makes sure to speed up the whole process.

The State Prosecutor orders an investigation by the Election Commission

September 24th

Kenya’s state prosecutor orders the police and anti-corruption authority to investigate whether members of the election commission have shown negligence in connection with the presidential election. They will, among other things, investigate the allegations made by the opposition to eleven named members of the electoral commission, but also whether leading opposition politicians had access to the commission’s servers, as the government says.

The new presidential election is moved to October 26

September 22

The Election Commission announces that the new presidential election is postponed until October 26. The decision is justified by the fact that more time is needed to prepare for the election.

HD: The election commission’s mistake undermined the presidential election

September 20

The Supreme Court blames the Election Commission (IEBC) for the problems surrounding the presidential election. A major problem, according to the court, is that the IEBC presented a result, before it could be verified that it was correct. Among other things, because all forms had not yet been reported and some of them lacked a watermark, signatures or serial number (a number of forms were still missing four days after the election). Nor could the Commission explain why they were missing.

Another was that the Election Commission, despite the court, did not allow their servers to be opened for review, which failed to refute the opposition’s allegations that the computer system had been hacked.

Incidentally, the court granted the election, nor has it found any evidence that Kenyatta had used state funds for her campaign.

Outside the courthouse, police deploy tear gas to prevent protesters, from the opposition and government supporters, from clashing together.

Death threat to HD judges

September 20

At a press conference, Supreme Court President David Maraga says he and several of his colleagues have been subjected to death threats after their decision to annul the presidential election. Maraga also emphasizes that police protection of them is insufficient. He also criticizes President Uhuru Kenyatta, although he does not mention him by name, for his statements that the court should “learn its homework”. Kenyatta has also suggested that the HD judges had been paid by “foreigners and other fools”.

Outside the courthouse, supporters of the ruling party demonstrate JP. Police use tear gas to disperse the protesters. Elsewhere in the country, Kenyatta’s sympathizers have blocked roads in several cities.

The opposition boycott Parliament’s opening

September 12

The opposition parties from Nasa do not participate when the new parliament is assembled. They say that the ceremony should have been postponed until after the new presidential election, and that Uhuru Kenyatta, as the situation looks, is not entitled to address Parliament as president. The Supreme Court judge is also absent and only one opposition member is present. In his speech to Parliament, Kenyatta warns of a situation where the contradictions and divisions in politics pose a threat to the stability of the country.

At the same time, the opposition alliance Nasa is gathering in the slum area of ​​Kiberia in Nairobi and demands, among other things, that the president of the election commission resign.

One sign of the high tone prevailing is that a few days earlier Kenyatta said that if Odinga wins the new presidential election, he will be faced with national law within three months. Something that might be possible because of his party JP’s strong position in Parliament.

Another signal that the political climate is hardening is that the number of cases of incitement against ethnic groups is increasing. A JP senator and a former opposition senator are being sued for such statements, but are released on bail.

New presidential election on October 17

September 4th

Election Commission President Wafula Chebukati announces that the new presidential election will be held on October 17 and that it will stand between two candidates Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga.

Odinga says, however, that he wants certain conditions to be fulfilled for him to stand in the election, including the replacement of six high-ranking members of the election commission and that all eight candidates who participated in August should be allowed to participate.

At the same time, he may find it difficult to hear his demands, as the Commission members are appointed by the President and then must be approved by Parliament.

The Supreme Court rejects the presidential election

1 September

The Supreme Court decides that the presidential election should be annulled because irregularities have occurred and that the election has not been conducted in accordance with the constitution. The Court orders that a new presidential election be held within 60 days. However, the court does not agree, it is four of six judges who refuse the election, one judge casts his vote.

The court will present more details about the decision within 21 days.

Also in 2013, Odinga appealed the election to the Supreme Court, which then approved the election result. Unlike then, he has now focused on errors in the procedure when the results were submitted. In 2013, he tried to prove how much cheating had occurred.

Odinga naturally welcomes the decision and points out that he lacks confidence in the Election Commission and that it must be replaced before elections can be held. And that the members of the Election Commission should be prosecuted.

Kenyatta says the law must be followed even if he does not agree with the court. At the same time, the president is calling for calm, while opposition supporters in western Kenya are celebrating the re-election.

A day later, however, Uhuru Kenyatta says he will “fix” the courts if he is re-elected.

The court’s ruling leads to a 4 percent stock market decline in Nairobi.

August

Infrastructure investments are promised when the new parliament is assembled

August 31st

President Kenyatta and the Jubilee Party (JP) return to the National Assembly and Senate with a stronger mandate than before the election. According to Raphael Tuju, JP’s secretary general, the government will use its new position to fulfill its election promises on a tighter state budget and investments in new infrastructure. The deficit in the state budget is still expected to land at around 6 percent of GDP for the 2017/2018 financial year.

Kenyatta wants to lower MPs’ salaries

August 30th

President Kenyatta announces plans to cut MPs’ wages, but also his own, by 15 percent. A proposal that is also supported by Odinga and Nasa, and which entails savings of almost $ 800 million a year.

Kenyan MPs earn the equivalent of $ 7,200 a month, and are exempt from paying taxes. The compensation also includes other benefits, such as cars and subsidized housing.

The MPs themselves object to the proposal, saying, for example, that they use their own funds to help voters in their constituencies.

Certainly reaches HD

August 28th

The Supreme Court opens the preparation of Raila Odinga’s appeal of the result in the presidential election. The Court gives Nasa’s lawyers access to the Election Commission’s servers. The case will be decided no later than December 1, when the seven judges will give their verdict.

Already on Election Day, Raila Odinga claimed that the computer system hacked to give Kenyatta victory. The opposition also accuses IEBC of forging documents from constituencies, pointing out that it took several days for the results to be published on the election commission’s website.

Kenya bans plastic bags

August 28th

Kenya bans all use of plastic bags. Anyone who manufactures, sells or carries a plastic bag risks a fine of up to the equivalent of $ 38,000 or imprisonment for up to four years. The purpose of the ban is to protect the environment.

Odinga appeals in court

August 18th

Opposition leader Raila Odinga and his party alliance Nasa are appealing to the Supreme Court to have the results of the presidential election tried. It only happens 90 minutes before the time limit expires at midnight. The message is worrying that new violence will erupt after the August 8 elections.

At the same time, in a statement, Nasa demands that the entire election be redone.

The appeal has been preceded by intense negotiations between Odinga and more conservative Nasa politicians such as Musalia Mudavadi and Kalonzo Musyoko who opposed new protest actions. Both Mudavadi and Musyoko are believed to be candidates for the next presidential election in 2022.

Police raids against human rights organizations

August 16th

Police carry out tax raids against the African Center for Open Governance (AfriCOG) and Kenya’s Commission on Human Rights (KHRC). Both organizations have played a prominent role in, among other things, the monitoring of elections. The government has also sent a letter threatening to close the groups, citing that they have been guilty of tax violations, which has been criticized by the UN, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch , among others . However, it backs away from this and says that calls should be initiated with AfriCOG and KHCR.

Opposition protest attracts few

August 14th

After the official result of the presidential election was announced on August 11 protests out in Nairobi and Kisumu, where the opposition is strong. But relatively few Kenyans obey Raila Odinga’s call for people to stay home from work on August 14 to express their displeasure with the Election Commission. One reason for this is that many people cannot afford to stay home from work.

Several players, both at home and abroad, urge Odinga to proceed through the courts instead of calling for new protest actions.

According to the human rights organization Kenya’s Commission on Human Rights (KHRC) , at least 24 people have been shot dead by police in connection with protests after Election Day. Nasa claims at least 100 people have been killed. According to the government, the death toll is lower: 10. Police claim that the majority of protesters were armed criminals.

The president, however, calls on the police to show restraint.

The Election Commission rejects fraud charges

10th August

The Election Commission rejects Raila Odinga’s allegations of electoral fraud. At the same time, reports that protests erupted in strong opposition parties in Nairobi and Kisumu in western Kenya the day after the election. The authorities also reject information that people have been killed in connection with the protests.

Musalia Mudavadi, a leading opposition representative, says that data from “secret sources” show that it is Odinga who has won the election by 300,000 votes margin (he claims that Odinga received just over 8 million votes against Kenyatta’s just under 7.8 million votes). However, no evidence is given for the claim. In Kisumu, hundreds of young men gather to celebrate Odinga’s victory. Even in the slum area of Mathare in Nairobi, opposition supporters who scan “Uhuru must resign” meet.

Odinga claims in a speech in Kiberia that the government organized death patrols that would inflict on “innocent people” in slums in Nairobi and Kisumu.

International election observers, from the Commonwealth countries and the American Carter Institute, among others, give Kenya praise for how the election has been conducted and that no signs of manipulation have been seen.

However, the IEBC Election Commission has not followed its own rules, as it has not been able to present all forms from the constituencies, which should constitute the official result.

Kenyatta wins the presidential election, accusations of electoral fraud

August 8th

President Uhuru Kenyatta calls for calm before the election and calls on all of the 19 million voters to vote. Before the election, security has been strengthened around the 41,000 polling stations and over 6,000 domestic observers are in place to monitor that everything is going right. Some technical problems are reported during Election Day, which has largely been calm.

Kenyatta is re-elected as president with just over 54 percent of the vote ahead of Raila Odinga, who gets just under 45 percent. Odinga believes, however, that cheating has occurred, partly because the result was presented without the necessary documents but only from the web. He claims that the Election Commission’s IT system has been hacked.

In addition to presidential elections, elections are also held for the National Assembly and Senate, as well as governors and representatives of local assemblies.

Kenya’s Jubilee Party (JP) also has success in the governorship election, where JAP and its allies win 27 of the 47 items that were at stake. 17 governor posts went to Nasa and related parties. The other 3 governor positions go to independent candidates.

In 20 of the cases, losing candidates have questioned the results.

JP wins his own majority in the Senate, and also has successes in the election to the National Assembly. Nasa has not set up as a political unit in the elections, but the candidates have participated as representatives of individual parties, which disadvantaged them, as they have taken votes from each other in many places and thus facilitated JP candidates.

However, the official result of the elections to the National Assembly and Senate is delayed. According to media reports, JP and allied parties have received 213 of the 349 seats in the National Assembly and 38 of 67 Senate seats.

Voters should be helped to reveal fake news

August 4th

A few days before the general elections, Kenyan voters receive advice and tips in a broad advertising campaign in newspapers and radio and on Facebook on how to learn how to see fake news. During the electoral movement, several widely disseminated tasks that discredited candidates were revealed as scams.

July

A member of the electoral commission is murdered

31 July

One of the leading members of the Election Commission is found murdered in his home just over a week before the parliamentary election. The body carries traces of torture. The murdered Chris Msando was head of information and IT matters at the Election Commission. It is unclear if the murder has a direct link to the election.

The Vice President’s residence is being attacked

July 30

After 20 hours of siege of Vice President Ruto’s residence near the town of Eldoret, elite soldiers shoot to death a man armed with a jungle knife has entered the housing complex. After seriously injuring a guard, he takes an officer hostage inside a gunfight. The drama ends with both the assailant and the hostage being killed. Ruto and his family are not at home.

Presidential debate without president

July 24

President Uhuru Kenyatta does not appear without explanation from a scheduled TV broadcast debate with chief opponent Raila Odinga. Earlier, the president answers questions on the internet and promises to create 6.5 million new jobs in the next five years if he is re-elected. Odinga says, when he is interviewed alone in the TV studio, that his main goal is to lower food prices and rents and to do something about youth unemployment. At the same time as the August 8 presidential election, Kenyans elect new parliament and local parishes.

Asians are recognized as a domestic group

July 21st

Kenyans of Asian – usually Indian – descent are recognized as Kenya’s 44th ethnic group. The recognition applies to those who have Kenyan citizenship by virtue of their parents being born in Kenya. Skeptics see recognition a few weeks before general elections as a form of voice fishing.

Nine are killed in terrorist attack

July 8

At least nine people are shot or killed in two coastal villages near the border with Somalia. The police suspect the murders were carried out by the Islamist al-Shabaab movement. The murders occur a few days after three police officers were killed in a guerrilla attack on a police station in a nearby town.

Kenyatta and Odinga hope for TV debate

July 5

Both major candidates in the presidential election, Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga, are jumping off a planned TV debate ahead of the election. This has happened since the TV company changed the format, so that Kenyatta and Odinga instead of just debating with each other would also meet six candidates from smaller parties.

At least three policemen are killed by al-Shabaab

July 5

At least three policemen are killed when al-Shabaab attacks a police station in the town of Pandanguo near the Somalia border. An unknown number of villagers are missing, according to media reports. Throughout the day, fire fights between militiamen and security forces are ongoing.

This is just one of several attacks by the Somali group in the border area and at least 28 people are reported to have been killed since mid-May.

Concerns about the violence around the election

July 3

The EU warns of the risk of violent clashes ahead of the August 8 presidential and parliamentary elections. While Human Rights Watch say they have received reports of intimidation and harassment of the population in Naivasha, a town that was exposed to violence following the elections of 2007.

June

Care and education initiatives in Jap’s election manifesto

June 27

Care and education are prioritized when the JAP government presents its program for the August elections. Promises include free, high-quality primary care for all Kenyans and free high school education, as well as an investment in housing construction. All Kenyans will have access to electricity by 2020 if JAP is able to fulfill what it promises. There is no mention of the major problems in the healthcare sector, which led to a series of strikes and protests during the past spring.

New rule should counteract fraud

June 23rd

The Court of Appeal decides that all results in elections must be determined at the constituency level. Previously, this has happened at national level. The National Electoral Commission IEBC has opposed the change, citing that it increases the risk of local electoral workers being pressured.

The measure is introduced to reduce the risk of electoral fraud when ballots are shipped from electoral level to IEBC.

May

Eight may try to become president

May 29th

The Election Commission approves eight candidates for the August presidential election, including incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta and his constant rival Raila Odinga.

April

Odinga Opposition candidate

April 27

The new opposition alliance Nasa (see January 2017) appoints Raili Odinga as its joint candidate for the August presidential election.

February

The government stops state advertising

February 27th

The Kenyan government bans government agencies from advertising in private media. Instead, this will be done through a new magazine My.Gov.The purpose is, it is claimed, to save money. The measure is expected to lead to major financial disruptions for the media. Two newspapers Star and People Daily have, for a fee, undertaken to distribute the newspaper through their channels.

Judges intervene against strike leaders

February 13

A judge orders that the leaders of the medical profession be arrested. This is done after many doctors at publicly owned hospitals have been striking since December 2016 to put force behind their demands for better wages and working conditions. A series of corruption scandals within the Ministry of Health has led to public support for the medical strike has grown, despite the fact that several patients are reported to have died because of it. Already at the end of 2016, a court ruled that the strike violates the law, but then the authorities did not intervene against the union in the hope that the parties could reach a negotiated solution. Among other things, the medical profession requires that an agreement from 2013 be fulfilled, according to which wages should be increased by 150-180 percent. The government says it can only agree on wage increases of 40 percent.

Nearly 3 million Kenyans are threatened by starvation

February 10

Severe drought in 23 of Kenya’s 47 counties leads to President Kenyatta announcing a “national disaster” in the country. The government announces support measures for the equivalent of just over $ 100 million, but at the same time appeals for international support to be able to help those affected. According to the authorities, 2.7 million people are at risk of starvation.

Court: Fail to close Dadaab

February 9

The Kenya High Court blocks the government’s decision to close the Dadaab refugee camp. According to the judge, the decision contravenes the constitution by unilaterally targeting a group, the Somalis. The government has 30 days to appeal.

January

al-Shabaab launches new attack on Kenyan base in Somalia

January 27

Extremist group al-Shabaab takes up a military base in Somali Kulbiyow, less than two miles from the Kenyan border. It claims to have killed at least 57 soldiers.

The opposition alliance Nasa is launched

January 12

The opposition alliance Nasa (see December 2016) is formally launched at a meeting in Nairobi. In addition to Cord, there are four other parties.