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Independence
Kenya gained independence from Great Britain. Jomo Kenyetta became the Prime Minister. -
Period: to
Timespan
Selected events form Kenya's modern history. -
Daniel Moi became President
Jomo Kenyatta died in office and was succeeded by his Vice President, Daniel arap Moi. -
Tribal Conflict
In a tribal conflict in the western part of the country, an estimated 2,000 people were killed. -
Elections
Political elections for president were held. Mwai Kibaki won a landslide victory over Daniel arap Moi who had been president for the past 24 years. -
Food Crisis
A food crisis caused by crop failure and drought affected many rural Kenyans, who started to receive some aid from the UN. President Mwai Kibaki called it a natural disaster. -
Wangari Maathai
Kenyan ecologist Wangri Maathai won the Noble Peace Prize for 2004. -
Corruption
Corruption became the focus of politics when some of Kenya's many corruption issues were revealed. -
Another Food Crisis
The government announced that 4 million people were in need of food due to a drought. -
Chinese Intrests in Kenya
The President of China, Hu Jintao, visited Kenya and signed a contract allowing China to prospect for oil off the coast of Kenya. -
Politiical Violence
Disagreement concerning the political elections led to violence and the deaths of more than 1,500 people. -
More Corruption
The Kenyan anti-corruption commission accused seven Members of Parliment of taking $250,000. -
Clinton's Criticism
The US Secratary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, criticized Kenya's government for not investigating the deadly violence that occurred after the 2007 elections. -
Yet Another Food Crisis
Kenya says that 10 million people, or one third of the population, was in need of food aid. The military was moblized to help the hardest hit areas. -
New constitution
Mwai Kibaki signed a new constituion into law. It was designed to limit presidential powers, and gave more power to local areas. -
The Truth Comes Out
The Truth Commission began to investigate the killing of 3,000 ethnic Somalis at Wagalla Airstrip during a crackdown on ethnic Somalis during 1984. This was a lesser known, dark part of Kenya's history. -
Drought
East Africa was hit by the worst drought in 60 years, devastating Kenyan crops and livestock.