The Kenya African National Union (KANU) is a Kenyan political party that ruled for nearly 40 years after Kenya's independence from British colonial rule in 1963 until its electoral loss in 2002. It was known as Kenya African Union (KAU) from 1944 but due to pressure from the colonial government, KAU changed its name to Kenya African Study Union (KASU) mainly because all political parties were banned in 1939 following the start of the Second World War. In 1946 KASU rebranded itself into KAU following the resignation of Harry Thuku as president due to internal differences between the moderates who wanted peaceful negotiations and the militants who wanted to use force, the latter forming the Aanake a forty, which later became the Mau Mau. His post was then occupied by James Gichuru, who stepped down for Jomo Kenyatta in 1947 as president of KAU. The KAU was banned by the colonial government from 1952 to 1960. It was re-established by James Gichuru in 1960 and renamed KANU on 14 May 1960 after a merger with Tom Mboya's Kenya Independence Movement.
The president of the Republic of Kenya is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Kenya. The president is also the head of the executive branch of the Government of Kenya and is the commander-in-chief of the Kenya Defence Forces. The country's current president is William Ruto since 13 September 2022.
The Catholic Church in Kenya is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Kenyan Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Pope in the Vatican City.
Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. The son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, he previously served as Deputy Prime Minister from 2008 to 2013.
Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi is a Kenyan politician and land economist who is currently serving as Prime Cabinet Secretary of Kenya, and since 2023, in an expanded role of Foreign & Diaspora Affairs Minister of Kenya. As of 1 November 2024, he is also serving as the cabinet secretary in the ministry of interior, albeit in an acting capacity ,succeeding Prof. Kithure Kindiki who was appointed Deputy president following the impeachment of Rigathi Gachagua. He is a former party leader of the Amani National Congress (ANC), one of the founding political parties, of the Kenya Kwanza alliance.
Jamhuri Day is a national holiday in Kenya, celebrated on 12 December each year. Jamhuri is the Swahili word for "republic" and the holiday officially marks the date when Kenya became an independent country on 12 December 1963, six months and eleven days after gaining internal self-rule on 1 June 1963 from the United Kingdom. Kenya later became a republic, with the inauguration of Jomo Kenyatta as president taking place on 12 December 1964, exactly one year after Kenya attained independence in 1963. Kenyatta, having previously been sworn in as prime minister, continued as prime minister of newly independent Kenya, before assuming the position of president one year after Independence Day.
Ngina Kenyatta, popularly known as "Mama Ngina", is the former First Lady of Kenya. She is the widow of Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta (~1889–1978), and mother of the fourth president Uhuru Kenyatta who served from 2013 to 2022.
Johnson Nduya Muthama is a Kenyan businessman and politician. He is serving as a Commissioner of Parliamentary Service Commission.
Kenyatta is an East African surname derived from the beaded belt worn by Maasai.
Amina Chawahir Mohamed Jibril, born 5 October 1961, is a former Kenyan cabinet secretary, lawyer and a diplomat of Somali descent. She is the immediate former Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Heritage and Culture in Kenya. She previously served as chairwoman of the International Organization for Migration and the World Trade Organization's General Council, as well as Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. She served as the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Kenya from May 2013 to February 2018, when President Uhuru Kenyatta, after re-election, moved her to the Education docket. In March 2019, she was moved to the Sports Ministry replacing Rashid Echesa. The KNEC Director, George Magoha replaced her in the Education docket.
Ida Betty Odinga is a Kenyan businesswoman, activist and educator. She is the wife of Raila Odinga, the former Prime Minister of Kenya, and the leader of National Super Alliance (NASA). In 2010, The Standard named Odinga, who was one of the first women to head a major Kenyan company, as one of the top most powerful women in Kenya in 2010.
The inauguration of Uhuru Kenyatta as the 4th president of Kenya took place on 9 April 2013. Kenyatta won 50.07% of the vote in the 2013 presidential election, after the supreme court dismissed the Raila petition on 30 March 2013. According to Article 141 (2) (b) of the constitution, in case the Supreme Court upholds the victory of the president-elect, the swearing in will take place on "the first Tuesday following the seventh day following the date on which the court renders a decision declaring the election to be valid." The event was held at Kasarani Stadium.A reception bouquet took place at State House,Nairobi.
The Kenyatta family is the family of Jomo Kenyatta, the first President of Kenya and a prominent leader in that country's independence. Born into the dominant Kikuyu culture, Kenyatta became its most famous interpreter of Kikuyu traditions through his book Facing Mount Kenya.
Kenya–United Kingdom relations are bilateral relations between Kenya and the United Kingdom. The interactions between the two states have been positive and friendly since Kenya's independence in 1963. Both the UK and Kenya are members of the Commonwealth of Nations and engage with each other regularly on matters of military, economic and cultural importance. Kenya retains many aspects of British culture and governance, such as continuing to use English within administration, education and the law, driving on the left, hosting a diaspora community of Britons, and having a large Protestant population. The British military continues to play an important role in the country with Kenya hosting the UK's largest base in Africa, which provides vital anti-terrorism training to the Kenyan police. The British royal family, in particular Elizabeth II had very close personal ties to the country. Elizabeth II was in Kenya when she received news that her father King George VI had died, and had made multiple state visits throughout her reign. To mark the 2022 Platinum Jubilee, Prince Edward visited the country to reinforce ties and celebrate Kenya's historic and current relationship with the UK. British tourism and finance are significant contributors to the Kenyan economy, with 100,000 British people visiting the country ever year for its national parks and wildlife.
The Jubilee Party of Kenya is a major political party in Kenya. It was the country's ruling party from 2016 to 13 September 2022. The party was founded on 8 September 2016, following the merger of 11 smaller parties. During the 2017 election, the Jubilee Party secured a plurality of seats in Parliament and the party leader, Uhuru Kenyatta, was re-elected president.
Anne Nyokabi Muhoho was married to Chief Muhoho in Kenya, and the mother-in-law of Jomo Kenyatta, the first prime minister (1963–1964) and the first president of Kenya (1964–1978). A girls' school in Nairobi bears her name.
Presidential elections were held in Kenya on 26 October 2017 following the Supreme Court's annulment of the results of the presidential vote in the August 2017 general elections. Incumbent president and Jubilee Party candidate Uhuru Kenyatta won 98.3% of the vote, defeating Orange Democratic Movement candidate Raila Odinga, who had withdrawn weeks before the election, believing that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission had no intention of implementing reforms that would ensure a credible process.
The Kenya Army Band is the primary military musical unit in the Kenya Army and by extension Kenya Defence Forces. From independence it was the only band in the Kenya Defence Forces until 1985 when the Kenya Air Force Band was formed and later in 1999 when the Kenya Navy Band was formed. All members of the band also play their primary role as Infantry Branch, with many having been deployed on various peace keeping missions, Somalia and South Sudan.
Jemimah Gecaga (1920–1979) was the first woman to serve in the legislature of Kenya and the founder of the women's advocacy organization, Maendeleo Ya Wanawake.
Noordin Mohamed Haji, OGW, CBS is a Kenyan advocate of the High Court of Kenya, a position he has held for the last 21 years and the current Director-General of the National Intelligence Service. He was the second Director of Public Prosecutions after the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, which made the Office an independent entity from the Attorney General's Office, which it had been previously under.
