Kenyan President William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto has been in office since September 2022 and is the fifth President of the country. Credit: KenyaNow

Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. Kenya’s capital and largest city is Nairobi. The second-largest and oldest city is Mombasa, a major port city located on Mombasa Island.

Kenya lies across the equator and covers an area of 582,646 Km2. It is geo-strategically located at the confluence of the Great Lakes, Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean contiguity, making it a gateway to Africa’s major trading blocs such as the East African Community (EAC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

It shares a border with Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west, Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the north-east. Kenya also has a maritime border of 536Km along the Indian Ocean.

Most of Kenya’s 52 million people live in the cooler highlands or the coast, which are best suited to food production. There are over 40 ethnic groups, mostly with their own language. Kiswahili and English are the national and official languages respectively. About 80 percent of Kenyans are Christians, 10 percent are Muslims and others retain indigenous beliefs.

Kenya’s Presidential Villa. Credit: BBC

The country’s diverse wildlife and panoramic geography draw large numbers of European and North American visitors, and tourism is an important contributor to Kenya’s economy.

A former British colony, Kenya gained independence after the Mau Mau insurgency of the 1950s.

The origins of the insurgency remain disputed by historians and its conduct became a controversial legacy for independent Kenya. In 2013, the British government paid compensation to claimants who said they had been the victims of abuses by colonial forces fighting the rebellion.

In August 2022, Deputy President William Ruto narrowly won the presidential election. He took 50.5% of the vote. His main rival, Raila Odinga, got 48.8% of the vote. The incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta was not eligible for a third term under Kenya’s constitution.

In July 2015, Barack Obama visited Kenya for the first time since he became president of the United States. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was born in Nyang’oma Kogelo and returned to Kenya in 1964, after he graduated from Harvard. Obama, Sr. lived in Nairobi at the time of his death in 1982. Kenyans have seen President Obama as a long-lost son and treated him as such during his 2015 visit, including welcoming ceremonies and lines of people holding signs greeting him wherever he went.

U.S. President Barack Obama who has a Kenyan father delivers a speech, in front of American and Kenyan flags, at the Safaricom Indoor Arena in the Kasarani area of Nairobi, Kenya on July 26, 2015. Obama was traveling on a two-nation African tour where he became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Kenya and Ethiopia. Credit: AP Photo

Kenya is home to breathtaking landscapes, interesting cultures, beautiful national parks and wildlife reservations. It is an ideal place to experience the fragrant smells of street food and colorful corner markets depicting its busy and bustling energy. With an abundance of successful conservation efforts, Kenya is known for preserving and protecting its stunning creatures and landscapes.

Food in Kenya is rich in different types of breads, fried potatoes, eggs, rice, meat, fish, and vegetables. Meals are family times, so Kenyan families often sit down together and talk about their day during meals. Most people eat with their right hand.

The first president and founding father of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta was inaugurated as president after a bitter struggle for independence from Britain. Credit: Wikipedia

There is no singular dish that represents all of Kenya’s wide cuisine. Different communities have their own native foods. Food staples such as maize and other cereals depend on the region, including millet and sorghum eaten with various meats and vegetables. The foods that are universally eaten in Kenya are ugali (maize), sukuma wiki (vegetables), and nyama choma (roasted beef).

Grains are a food staple for groups that grow grains such as Kikuyu, Embu, Meru, and Kisii. Other communities such as the Luo and the Coastal communities have fish and seafood as their staple food. In semi-arid areas like Turkana, foods made from sorghum are more common staple foods. Towards the city, food eaten by working families varies according to preference and ethnicity. Rice and stew are more common with working families, and other dishes like chapati (parantha) and chicken stew.

Flamingos in Lake Nakuru. Kenya’s Lake Nakuru is known for the vast numbers of pink flamingos that historically flocked to its waters, although their numbers declined in the early 21st century. Credit: Britannica

Kenya is a hub for beautiful culturally inspired arts and crafts. Some of the items are sold as memorabilia to our visitors and they include:  sisal baskets, Maasai bead jewelry, musical instruments, soapstone sculptures, animal wooden carvings, tribal masks, paintings and prints on batik clothes, sculptures, kangas-women’s wraparound skirts with beautiful patterns with swahili proverbs printed on them, kikoi textile sarongs and more.

Typical african sunset with acacia trees in Masai Mara, Kenya. Credit: Wikipedia

Traditional African beliefs play a significant role in the lives of Kenyans in spite of adapting to modern values. Kenyans practice traditional values of humility, concern for neighbors and maintenance of kinship ties. Activities such as marriage, child naming, burials and other rites of passage are still heavily influenced by traditional beliefs and practices and range from community to community. Some communities have retained more of the traditional African lifestyle than others and consequently has gained great respect (and curiosity) internationally.