Backed by the presidential camp, Odinga is now the establishment candidate, but he lacks his rival’s grassroots support
The kick-off of Raila Odinga's fifth presidential bid in front of around 100,000 people in Nairobi's Kasarani stadium on 10 December may have displayed 'Baba's' undimmed capacity to...
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With the polls favouring his rival, Deputy President Ruto, Odinga will have an uphill struggle in the key regions that will decide the vote
Leader of Orange Democratic Movement and veteran oppositionist, Raila Odinga held his Azimio la Umoja rally to launch his presidential candidacy on 10 December at the 60,000-seat Kasarani...
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As he prepares to break with the ruling Jubilee coalition, William Ruto is winning over voters in President Kenyatta's home base
The grand plan to parachute veteran oppositionist Raila Odinga into the presidency in the elections next August has run into powerful headwinds. The heaviest blow to Odinga's ambition...
The extradition of two Moi-era senior officials has inched closer after the Supreme Court granted authority to the Director of Public Prosecutions to pursue the cases.
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Vol 62 No 24 |
- KENYA
- CHINA
A showpiece for Beijing-Nairobi cooperation the Standard Gauge Railway project is also one of the world's costliest
Concerns are rising about Kenya's capacity to repay the hefty loans it took from Chinese contractors and banks to finance the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) as the cost...
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A Presidential prerogative appears to have granted Deputy President William Ruto another stay of execution
Plans to expel Deputy President William Ruto from the ruling Jubilee party have clashed with the presidential calendar. Uhuru Kenyatta's eighth and last State of the Nation address...
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Raila Odinga's presidential bid relies on the grandees, while his rival William Ruto focuses on the money
With less than ten months before the presidential elections next year, the two leading contenders are almost certain to be veteran oppositionist Raila Odinga, now 'handshake' partner to...
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Reports that a joint opposition force might march on Addis Ababa have triggered a fresh push for a ceasefire and political talks
The call by Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni for a summit on Ethiopia's deepening crisis reveals growing alarm among regional leaders and the problems their organisations face in resolving...
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Major revamp of the ruling party likely after President's former ally readies his campaign
The eight-year marriage of convenience between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto will end this month when the Jubilee party holds its National Delegates Convention. Its...
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Vol 62 No 22 |
- KENYA
- BRITAIN
Confusion over eligible vaccines and questions about a health-workers deal cast a shadow over Britain's trade campaign
Although President Uhuru Kenyatta returned to Nairobi with £132 million (US$181m) in trade and investment deals after co-hosting the Global Education Summit with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson...
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Vol 62 No 22 |
- KENYA
- UGANDA
A much-needed diplomatic mission could repair the ructions at the heart of East Africa's single market project
Officials from Nairobi are to travel to Uganda next month to verify disputed claims over milk and sugar imports as one of the major trade fights in the...
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Fresh from addressing UN and US officials on his country's political successes, the President faces a bumpy economy ahead of next year's elections
When he addressed the UN Security Council on 12 October President Uhuru Kenyatta joined other speakers to argue that mismanagement of ethnic diversity often caused political violence within...
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Vol 62 No 21 |
- KENYA
- SOMALIA
A further souring of relations between Nairobi and Mogadishu could damage regional stability
Relations between Mogadishu and Nairobi are set to plunge still lower in the wake of the ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 12 October which...
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Central Province – President Kenyatta's home area – is now the swing region ahead of next year's elections
In ever greater numbers, presidential contenders are trooping to Central Kenya in search of grassroots supporters as well as endorsements from the Mount Kenya oligarchs.
Regional trade has largely recovered from the pandemic, but is still hampered by political battles
East Africa's economy grew the fastest of all Africa's regions before the pandemic. Growth was predicted at 5.1% for 2020 pre-Covid – largely driven by strong spending on...
Former radical firebrand Odinga tries to woo Kikuyu voters in their churches as President Kenyatta focuses on attacking his ambitious deputy
The dismissal of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) by the High Court may yet derail veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga's fifth presidential bid but in the meantime, while...
Kenya's presence on Twitter – popularly known as KOT – is an army of social media cyber-warriors whose influence has grown so large that Twitter's dominance of political...
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After the courts throw out the constitutional reform plan, the political rivals resort to new tactics
The constitutional referendum may be off the agenda and Deputy President William Ruto's rivals may have been wrong-footed but the political battles are set to intensify. President Uhuru...
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The courts have administered the last rites to the 'handshake' duo's constitutional reform project
Its supporters referred to the Building Bridges Initiative as 'reggae' but the music stopped on 19 August when the Court of Appeal in Nairobi upheld a High Court...
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Arrears on payments to contractors and suppliers have risen by 8% this year
Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani may have gained a bit of breathing room via a $2.4 billion programme with the IMF in May, and a fourth Eurobond issue worth...
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The ruling will shape the game plan for next year's presidential election and Deputy President Ruto gears up his own campaign
President Uhuru Kenyatta and 'handshake' partner Raila Odinga have paved the way for their constitutional reform package to speed through parliament, with a referendum to be held within...
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United States President Joe Biden's initial African policy plans are starting with a programme inherited from President Donald Trump called Prosper Africa. The Biden White House wants to...
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Cast aside by Raila Odinga, his former allies plan to join a rival alliance ahead of next year's elections
The collapse of Kenya's National Super Alliance, the opposition coalition that lost the 2017 election, looks certain after three of the party leaders involved – Amani National...
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By beating the ruling party in the Mount Kenya region, Deputy President Ruto has scored a palpable hit against the President
Deputy President William Ruto notched up another success in his bid to win next August's presidential election after his personal political vehicle, the United Democratic Alliance, won a...
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Vol 62 No 14 |
- KENYA
- UGANDA
As electoral rivalries get ever more complex in Nairobi, a leading presidential contender seeks backing in Kampala
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni says that his meeting with Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto last week was simply a gathering of neighbouring leaders. But to State House watchers...
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Debt and spending have mushroomed, but vested interests will fight attempts to rein in the elite’s cash cows
The Treasury's recent successful flotation of a billion dollars in Eurobonds signals that Kenya is not about to wean itself off a dangerous addiction to expensive commercial credit....
With his rivals mired in litigation and squabbling over who will be their candidate, the Deputy President is again the man to beat
With his rivals bogged down in court trying to salvage the Building Bridges Initiative, Deputy President William Ruto has re-emerged as the man to beat in next August's...
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Appeal court hearing will decide the fate of the Building Bridges Initiative and perhaps next year's elections
Judges sat for five consecutive days at the Appeal Court to review the 14 May High Court ruling that the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), at the centre of...
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Election pact hailed by insiders as return to Grand Coalition Government but sceptics abound
For loyalists of Raila Odinga, his electoral negotiations with President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Jubilee party are the logical conclusion of their celebrated handshake deal which ended hostilities...
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Regional recovery plan depends on more borrowing and tougher tax enforcement
Budget day on 10 June in East Africa meant 'borrowing', as the region's three biggest economies unveiled their tax and spending plans for the coming fiscal year. All...
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The High Court’s rejection of the BBI process risks ripping apart a carefully constructed compromise
Having sailed through parliament, the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) bill hit a major and unexpected roadblock on 14 May, when the High Court ruled the constitutional reform plan...
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Why the court ruling scuppers the government’s plan for a July referendum and boosts its opponents
Political allies President Uhuru Kenyatta and erstwhile opposition leader Raila Odinga have to rethink their political strategy after the High Court in Nairobi threw out their plan to...
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Vol 62 No 10 |
- KENYA
- TANZANIA
President Samia Suluhu Hassan's goodwill visit to Nairobi early this month succeeded in substituting warmth and bonhomie for the mistrust and suspicion that characterised the late John Magufuli's...
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Vol 62 No 10 |
- KENYA
- TANZANIA
Just over a month after President Magufuli's demise, his successor is repairing relations in the region
Strains in relations between Kenya and Tanzania date back decades to stated ideological differences over capitalism and socialism, to Kenya's bigger economy, and down to the national 'ownership'...
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The United States is to conclude its trade talks with Kenya, allaying concerns they would stall under President Biden's administration
President Joe Biden's government is 'looking forward to continue the ongoing discussions with regard to our FTA,' Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said on Tuesday (27 April) in...
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Kenyans worry that the government is leading donors on a familiar dance as it continues to increase borrowing
In the dog days of President Daniel arap Moi's reign, Kenya acquired a reputation for borrowing from the International Monetary Fund and other financial institutions after promising economic...
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been among the most vocal critics of Ethiopian premier Abiy Ahmed's handling of the ongoing civil war in Tigray. In...
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Challenge to reform bill could derail referendum on constitutional change posing a heavy risk for Odinga
The passing of the bill implementing the recommendations of the Building Bridges Initiative should have been a formality paving the way for a referendum. Instead, several embarrassing setbacks...
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As the Jubilee government plans a referendum on another costly bout of devolution, citizens protest against rising debt
Arguments over public debt and fiscal balance have left the cabinet rooms and think tanks for the streets. At home and in public meeting places, Kenyans are airing...
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None of the presidential contenders can explain how they could form a majority at next year’s elections
Kenya's next president will be Raila Odinga, William Ruto or 'S'. The latter stands for 'the system'. This informs a growing assumption that with neither Odinga nor Ruto...
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Vol 62 No 7 |
- KENYA
- BRITAIN
A 'special relationship' between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Premier Boris Johnson seems to have gone off the rails
Angered by Britain's decision to put Kenya on its 'red list' of banned countries with coronavirus infection rates, President Uhuru Kenyatta's government responded by cancelling all direct flights...
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Regional disputes will limit Nairobi's chances of using leadership roles for influence beyond national borders
In 2021 Kenya holds one of two African seats at the United Nations Security Council, the chair of the African Union Peace and Security Council, and for the...
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The third wave of the pandemic has hit the country with reports of a mounting death toll and desperate shortages of intensive care beds
On Friday (26 March), President Uhuru Kenyatta announced tighter restrictions on Nairobi, Kajiado, Machakos, Kiambu and Nakuru counties, as disease-infested areas following a surge in Covid-19 infections. An...
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The perennial presidential candidate wants his 'handshake' to propel him into State House. But others have their eyes on the prize
The third anniversary of the 'handshake' of reconciliation between President Uhuru Kenyatta and veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga passed with muted celebrations. Orange Democratic Movement leader Odinga spent...
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Banking on the country's diversified economy and its IMF deal, finance officials are going back to the markets
Treasury officials are basing their plans for debt-restructuring and another Eurobond issue on a rapid bounce back from the pandemic's hit on tourism and commodity exports – several...
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The takeover of Jubilee by President Uhuru Kenyatta's allies appears to be complete after they ousted Caleb Kositany, the Deputy Secretary General, and key lieutenant of estranged Deputy...
Kenya's trade agreement with the United Kingdom finalised in November was sold as a diplomatic triumph in Nairobi but met with consternation in East Africa's other capitals. The...
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Strong majority at national and county level for constitutional amendment and more devolution
The Building Bridges Initiative has taken a big step towards becoming reality after the Constitutional Amendment bill that will put it into law was passed by 41 of...
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Kenya's determined support for Britain's candidate to head the Court raises questions about its political direction
The election of British lawyer Karim Ahmad Khan on 12 February as the new prosecutor of the International Criminal Court comes as it is still struggling to establish...
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The economy has been badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic but the President is still offering more giveaways
After two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, the Kenya economy is officially in recession. It shrank by 5.3% in the second quarter of 2020 largely due to...
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The unwieldy coalition in Nairobi is going from big tent to bloated tent
When President Uhuru Kenyatta shuffled and expanded his pack of ministers on Thursday (19 February) it was his 'handshake' partners, Orange Democratic Movement party leader Raila Odinga and...
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Top UN official's bid for the presidency in 2022 complications for the other contenders
Political alliances have been shaken up again after the former trade minister in President Mwai Kibaki's government, Mukhisa Kituyi, resigned as Secretary General of the UN Conference on...
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The county governments are to debate the Building Bridges Initiative which will boost their budgets
The National Assembly will resume sitting on Tuesday (9 February) but personal power struggles rather than new policies are set to dominate this session despite concerns about the...
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While the Jubilee Party establishment paid homage to the late President Daniel arap Moi, Deputy President William Ruto was campaigning on the Coast
If funerals are Kenyan politicians' favourite platform for campaigning, the memorial service to mark the anniversary of former President Daniel arap Moi's death in Nakuru was the next...
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If it wins enough votes, the plan could bar the Deputy President from the succession race
After Musalia Mudavadi's Amani National Congress revealed that it had instructed its legal team to draft articles of impeachment, the idea has been enthusiastically taken up by William...
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In what should be a safe seat for their combined forces, Kenyatta and Odinga seem to have reservations about the vote
The next pitched battle between Deputy President William Ruto and the 'handshake' coalition of President Uhuru Kenyatta and erstwhile opposition leader Raila Odinga is centred over whether and...
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The BBI alliance is manoeuvring its ally into the Nairobi governorship because it fears losing another by-election
The political differences between Deputy President William Ruto and President Uhuru Kenyatta are playing themselves out in the tussle to fill the position of the governor of Nairobi.
The President’s coalition with his former adversary will be put to the electorate in 2021 against a backdrop of economic pain
After a catastrophic decline in economic performance due to Covid-19 in 2020, aggravated by corruption and wrong-headed fiscal and public debt policies, 2021 promises to be particularly painful...