August 21, 2023
Kenya: Faith Kipyegon - From Walking to School in Rural Kenya to Setting World Athletics Alight
All eyes are on Faith Kipyegon at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. That's because the Kenyan 1,500 metre and 5,000 metre star broke three world records… Read more »
August 16, 2023
Kenya: Kenya and the U.S. Are Negotiating a Trade Deal That Could Be a Model for Africa
The US and Kenya announced a trade and investment partnership in July 2022. Talks have been progressing on the way forward in nine areas, including agriculture, anti-corruption,… Read more »
August 08, 2023
Kenya: Kenya's Political Dialogue Is a Welcome Sign of Democracy At Work - If Both Sides Understand Their Roles
Since Kenya's presidential election in August 2022, the new government has been in conflict with the opposition. Read more »
August 09, 2023
Kenya: Kenya Is Going Digital to Boost Tax Revenue - There Are Lessons to Learn From Other African Countries
Many African tax authorities have weak capacity to raise revenue. From 1990 to 2020, sub-Saharan African countries on average collected only about 12%-15% of GDP as taxes, a much… Read more »
Kenya: The Fast, Furious, and Brutally Short Life of an African Male Lion
The death of a lion in Kenya's picturesque savannas rarely tugs at people's hearts, even in a country where wildlife tourism is a key pillar of the nation's economy. But when one… Read more »
August 06, 2023
Kenya: Living in Nairobi's Informal Areas Spikes Chances of Having High Blood Pressure
Hypertension, commonly referred to as high blood pressure, is a non-communicable disease that occurs when there is a sustained elevation in the pressure of the blood that flows… Read more »
July 28, 2023
Africa: Putin Offers Unconvincing Giveaways to Make Up for Killing Ukraine Grain Deal
The second Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg on July 27 and 28 was predictably overshadowed by the war in Ukraine - and especially Russia's refusal to agree an extension of the… Read more »
July 22, 2023
Kenya: Kenya's Logging Ban Has Been Lifted - It's a Political Decision and a Likely Setback for Conservation
Kenyan president William Ruto has lifted a six-year ban on logging, despite public objections. Ruto said it would create jobs and boost economic growth. Lisa E. Fuchs has studied… Read more »
July 16, 2023
Kenya: Queer Theory Offers New Views On Daily Life - Even On Infrastructure Projects in Kenya
I'll confess I've raised quite a few eyebrows when I've told people about my research linking queer theory and infrastructure development. Read more »
July 09, 2023
Kenya: Kenya At 60 - Six Key Moments That Shaped Post-Colonial Politics
Kenya celebrates 60 years of independence this year. As a political scientist who has studied Kenya for the past 20 years, I consider a turning point from each decade that helped… Read more »
June 21, 2023
Kenya: Kenya's Population - 5 Key Findings in the Past 20 Years of Research
Like many countries on the African continent, Kenya's population is growing - fast. The country's population was 8.1 million in 1963; today it stands at about 55 million people.… Read more »
June 18, 2023
Kenya: Gold Fraud - the Goldenberg Scam That Cost Kenya Billions of Dollars in the 1990s - and No One Was Jailed
The Goldenberg scandal in the early 1990s is Kenya's largest documented gold fraud. The scheme involved Goldenberg International Limited, which pretended to export gold and… Read more »
June 15, 2023
Kenya: Mama Ngina Kenyatta At 90 - the Quiet Power Behind Kenya's Famous Political Family
Few witnessed the building of the young Kenyan state from within as did Ngina Kenyatta, the widow of Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta. Mama Ngina, as she is known, will mark… Read more »
June 13, 2023
Kenya: Kenya's Budget Doesn't Allocate Funds for New Education Initiatives - This Will Stall Innovation in the Country
President William Ruto's first budget for Kenya sets no education priorities. The Finance Bill 2023 doesn't make it clear what Kenya is trying to achieve - stronger foundational… Read more »
June 12, 2023
Kenya: Kenya's First Budget Under Ruto - Three Experts Review Its Key Points
President William Ruto's first budget comes to the national assembly on 15 June against the backdrop of massive public debt and public disquiet over high inflation. The KSh3.663… Read more »
June 09, 2023
Kenya: New Spy Chief Will Lead the National Intelligence Service - What the Job Is All About
Kenya's President William Ruto recently nominated a new national intelligence chief. Breaking with tradition, the president picked a career intelligence officer, Noordin Haji. Read more »
June 08, 2023
Kenya: Kenya's Opposition Wants to Split Up the Country - but Secession Calls Seldom Succeed
Kenya's opposition politicians recently called for secession - which is the withdrawal of territory and sovereignty from part of an existing state to create a new state. Led by… Read more »
May 31, 2023
Kenya: How the British Used Street Names to Show Colonial Power
Place names, along with other urban symbols, were used as a tool of control over space in many African countries during the colonial period. This strategy was epitomised by the… Read more »
May 29, 2023
Kenya: China in Africa - Kenya Railway Study Shows Investment Projects Aren't a One-Way Street
China is an important economic player in Africa. In 2021 alone, China accounted for nearly US$5 billion in foreign direct investment in African countries. The rapidly increasing… Read more »
May 21, 2023
Africa: Grand Infrastructure Projects Aren't a Magic Bullet for Industrial Development - Insights From Ghana and Kenya
The African Union's flagship Agenda 2063 initiative prioritises large-scale infrastructure development and promises to "link the continent by rail, road, sea and air". Read more »
May 18, 2023
Kenya: Baboon Bonds - New Study Reveals That Friendships Make Up for a Bad Start in Life
Childhoods can predict a great deal about how adult lives might play out. For instance, research has shown that people whose childhoods involve poverty, abuse and neglect have… Read more »
May 16, 2023
Kenya: Kenya's Political Elites Switch Parties With Every Election - How This Fuels Violence
Barely seven months after leaving office, Kenya's former president Uhuru Kenyatta is battling to keep together the party that won him a second term and a majority in parliament in… Read more »
May 08, 2023
Kenya: Kenya's Starvation Cult Left Hundreds Dead - a Psychologist's View On How to Support People As They Process Tragedy
In early April 2023, Kenyan police discovered a mass grave linked to a Pentecostal church in the coastal town of Malindi. By the end of the month, at least 110 bodies had been dug… Read more »
May 09, 2023
Kenya: Kenya Cult Deaths - a New Era in the Battle Against Religious Extremism
More than a hundred people in Kenya - among them children - have been found dead close to a small village in the south-east of the country. It's believed that most of the deceased… Read more »
May 08, 2023
Kenya: Kenya's Starvation Cult Left Over 100 Dead - a Psychologist's View On How to Support People As They Process Tragedy
In early April 2023, Kenyan police discovered a mass grave linked to a Pentecostal church in the coastal town of Malindi. By the end of the month, at least 110 bodies had been dug… Read more »