President Ruto’s fund for small businesses is taking shape but critics ask whether sacrificing its ambition will limit its impact
The fanfare at the launch on 30 November of President William Ruto's Hustler Fund for small businesses could not be denied. Far less clear is if it will...
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Suspending the dissidents is likely to be the first move in a prolonged fight over control of the commission
President William Ruto has suspended the four members of the Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) who disowned the results which saw him elected in August in a...
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Vol 63 No 24 |
- KENYA
- UGANDA
The latest forays by East African leaders show their region's fast-expanding economic ties with Asia
Less than a fortnight after their Tanzanian counterpart Samia Suluhu Hassan visited China to drum up trade and investment, Presidents William Ruto and Yoweri Museveni of Kenya and...
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Civic activists mount legal challenge to President's appointments on grounds of gender and regional balance
After his cabinet secretary nominations sailed through parliament despite integrity and competence questions over many of them, President William Ruto faces a roadblock to his plans to reward...
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The fight to control the electoral commission focuses on personalities instead of pushing for its wider reform
Wafula Chebukati, the chairman of Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is due to retire on 17 January but the opposition's critiques of the organisation – and...
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The new government has to make many politically difficult choices on cuts in its supplementary budget due in a few weeks
President William Ruto's government has secured an endorsement from the IMF on 8 November giving it access to some US$433 million, out of its three-year $2.34 billion extended...
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President Ruto's new cabinet establishes a new elite ushered in with maximum connections and minimum scrutiny
Keen to honour his campaign debts, and with apparently little concern over the integrity of his nominees, President William Ruto has sworn in a 24-member cabinet that is...
After promising ambitious support programmes for small businesses, the new President finds that the fiscal cupboard is bare
President William Ruto's grand, and expensive, promises of a 'bottom up' economy, replete with new financial support for small businesses and farmers, has quickly fallen foul of economic...
Vol 63 No 21 |
- KENYA
- UGANDA
President Museveni's erratic son has exposed a dangerous vacuum of power which could trigger a messy succession battle
The falling out between President Yoweri Museveni and his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba is dividing the first family and the state bureaucracy, as well as deepening disaffection in the...
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Lawyers and rights campaigners question the abandoning of multiple prosecutions for fraud cases against figures close to the new President
'Freedom is coming', was the mantra of President William Ruto's successful election campaign. It was particularly fitting for many of his Cabinet Secretary nominees facing criminal and graft...
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Close allies of the president and his deputy dominate the new team, with a sprinkling of technocrats, but few women
After a narrow election win and a slim majority of MPs backing him in parliament, President William Ruto is taking no chances with his first cabinet. His team...
Pressure grows on state finances after details emerge of a $45 million spending spree by the last administration ahead of the elections
Facing growing financial pressures, President William Ruto appears to be rethinking his earlier rejection of any restructuring of Kenya's foreign debt. Public debt stands at 8.56 trillion shillings...
The fate of lawyer Paul Gicheru is one of many unexplained deaths linked to the 2007-2008 political violence cases at the ICC
Widespread suspicion greeted the death of Paul Gicheru, the Kenyan lawyer who two years ago turned himself into the International Criminal Court to face charges of tampering with...
As he chooses his ministers, the new president has been making sweeping economic changes and blaming his predecessor
Four days after his victory lap and inauguration on 12 September, President William Samoei Ruto flew to London for Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral, and on to New...
After ending fuel and maize subsidies, the new President got in a diplomatic tangle while cutting a deal with Rabat on cheaper fertiliser
In a mark of political self-confidence President William Ruto announced swingeing cuts to fuel and maize subsidies at his inauguration on 12 September at Nairobi's Kasarani stadium. But...
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The new president's coalition takes the speaker posts in both houses and courts Musyoka, who controls the Kamba vote
After his inauguration on 13 September, President William Ruto starts his first term with clear control of both houses of parliament and a good chance of expanding that...
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The Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the Deputy President's election win, probably ending his rival's political career
After an epic campaign against the political establishment, William Ruto will take over as President with the economy at its weakest for years and the political system at...
Presidential winner William Ruto accused his erstwhile ally Kenyatta of weaponising the state against him – now he will start the purge
William Ruto's ascent to the presidency on 5 September leaves him with a raft of political debts to pay. Reminiscent of Uhuru Kenyatta's 2013 accession, it has also...
Having made big financial and personal pledges to win backing for his campaign, William Ruto now has to satisfy his creditors
As soon as Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission chief Wafula Chebukati declared William Ruto the winner of the presidential election, the President-elect swung into action, immediately putting together...
Josep Borrell, the European Union's High Representative, will become the first western leader to congratulate Kenya's President-elect William Ruto in person when he visits on 10 September. United...
After challenging President Uhuru Kenyatta on his home turf, the Deputy President has pulled off a remarkable political upset
Only the Supreme Court stands in the way of Deputy President William Ruto's final trouncing of his establishment foes in State House, the big media organisations and many...
The Supreme Court is to give its verdict on the close-run election and the electoral commission in a highly charged atmosphere
When presidential contender Raila Odinga's legal team, civil society organisations and sundry individuals met the deadline of 2 p.m. on 22 August to file their petitions disputing the...
Deputy President William Ruto's coalition has redrawn the political map but the dispute over the presidential vote rumbles on
While the row over the presidential election is set to end up in the Supreme Court, gains by Deputy President William Ruto's coalition in parliamentary, county assembly and...
Crisis looms after electoral body splits over claims of opaque vote tallying in the country's closest ever poll – Odinga's coalition is set to challenge results
It took two delayed attempts and the intervention of riot police before election chief Wafula Chebukati could announce that Deputy President William Ruto had won the presidential elections...
Both the presidential frontrunners say they are heading for victory on 9 August in an election that will be decided by turnout in key battleground regions
The presidential election on 9 August is on a knife edge as the campaigns draws to a close amid mounting concerns about the independence and efficiency of the...
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A dysfunctional electoral commission is targeted again amid growing fears of vote manipulation and political interference
Whatever doubts existed about the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s ability to supervise next week’s general election have only deepened in the final stretch of the campaigns.
Kenyan lawmakers joining Parliament and county assemblies after the 9 August general elections will receive fewer perks than their predecessors, though that will still leave them among the...
An election campaign focused more on insults than policy is doing little to calm fears about disputed results
Ahead of the 9 August presidential elections, former prime minister Raila Odinga has eked out a narrow opinion poll lead over Deputy President William Ruto in recent weeks,...
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Multi-millionaire Deputy President frames the 9 August vote as fight between his 'hustler' army and veteran oligarchs
Many in Nairobi's commentariat forecast the presidential election on 9 August will be the closest ever – which is almost certain to trigger appeals and street demonstrations by...
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The confirmation by the United States Senate that Hewlett Packard chief executive Margaret Whitman will take over as Washington's Ambassador to Kenya, as the US Commerce department announced...
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Odinga camp accuses ballot-printers of secret ties with his opponents as Ruto complains about fake opinion polls
Allegations of improper relations between the firm printing the ballot papers for the general elections and Ford-Kenya leader Moses Wetangula, a prominent ally of Deputy President William Ruto,...
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A mix of business people and political jobbers are eyeing parliamentary seats and plum county governorships
The sharpest focus is on the presidential election battle between Raila Odinga and William Ruto, but the 9 August elections will also see some fierce contests in the...
Of all the promises made on the campaign trail, Kenyan presidential contender Raila Odinga's plans to curb the import of second-hand clothes, known as mitumba, has caused the...
Psephology not ideology informs the rival candidates' campaigns as the election race tightens
With few substantive policies in dispute, the presidential election on 9 August between front runners William Ruto and Raila Odinga is testing their capacity to stitch together the...
After weeks of speculation, the running mates selected by presidential aspirants Raila Odinga and William Ruto confirmed what has been apparent for several years: the next president will...
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Presidential contenders Odinga and Ruto both pick their deputies from the Kikuyu heartlands and trigger a fierce rivalry in the region
After criticising Kenyan politics as a 'rich boys' club', former Justice Minister Martha Karua has been chosen by Raila Odinga as his running mate ahead of national elections...
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Nairobi has assembled regional states to fight Congolese armed groups, but they include the very countries the groups depend on for aid
An agreement by regional governments to form a joint military force to deploy against armed groups in Congo-Kinshasa looks like a diplomatic masterstroke by Kenya, which is coordinating...
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As his personal fortune is probed amid talk of impeachment, William Ruto claims he is being targeted by the 'Deep State'
President Uhuru Kenyatta's bid to force out his deputy William Ruto could trigger further political instability ahead of national elections in August.
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Devolution was supposed to help bridge the yawning gap between Kenya's rich and poor counties by driving fairer allocation of resources. In reality, it is at best slowing...
The presidential candidates are agonising about their running mates as the deadline for nominations approaches
Coalition and power-sharing deals have been struck ahead of the 9 August presidential elections so the next question is the choice of presidential running mates, as the deadline...
One of the region's most eminent economists, Kibaki stoked growth and cut debt but failed to rein in the corrupt and thuggish barons on all sides of the system
The rival presidential candidates Deputy President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga have heaped praise on former President Emilio Mwai Kibaki, who has died at 90....
The two candidates want to cherry-pick from President Kenyatta's legacy and avoid responsibility for the growing debt burden
The irony of having an election contest between a Deputy President campaigning in opposition to his government and an opponent endorsed by the President is lost on few...
Presidential contender Raila Odinga pledges to revive his constitutional reform ideas should he win in August's elections
The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) was the most tangible policy outcome of the 2018 'handshake’ between President Uhuru Kenyatta and erstwhile opposition leader Raila Odinga but on 31...
A new front has opened in the long-running battle for compensation for the non-American victims of the 1998 bombings of the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania....
Overseas trips by the two leading presidential contenders have done little to calm foreign nerves about prospects for the August elections
Kenyans have been given a short break from the day-to-day drama of election rallies and media debates as presidential candidates Deputy President William Ruto and ex-Prime Minister Raila...
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Buoyed by mobile money advances, the central bank is launching a digital currency that could boost growth in an election year
Out of 52 emerging markets and developing economies, Kenya ranks third after Mongolia and China in financial inclusion, amplified by the fact that the country pioneered mobile money...
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A ten-day tour of the United States and Britain at the beginning of March marks Deputy President William Ruto's most important trip yet ahead of August's presidential elections....
Underneath bland mainstream media coverage, social media and vernacular broadcast stations are stirring ethnic divisions
Hopes for credible and peaceful national elections in August are getting shakier. Hate speech and ethnic-baiting in local languages are back in force. Frustrated by official complacency, many...
President Uhuru Kenyatta's government is trying again to secure the Commonwealth Secretary-General post, running an energetic campaign on behalf of its candidate, Monica Juma. Cabinet Secretary for Energy,...
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Trying to win over Anglophone governments ahead of their grand regional summit, EU officials have been offering deals to Kenya
The European Union wants to agree a 'strategic partnership' with Africa at a summit next month. Now, it has identified Kenya as a key target.
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Western province leader shakes up presidential campaigns as he breaks definitively with Raila Odinga
Aides to the Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi had promised an 'earthquake' ahead of the rally to launch his presidential campaign at Nairobi's Bomas of Kenya...
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Committed investors and political will are key to success of proposed tie-up between Kenya Airways and South African Airways
Officials in Nairobi and Johannesburg are working with new investors for the launch next year of the biggest airline alliance in Africa after two years of crashing revenues...
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Voter registration ahead of the August general election is low because people are disillusioned with politicians and the system, say analysts and activists, and also because of backlogs...
Polarised parliamentary battles on an elections bill reflect starker ethnic divisions within the country at large
After filibusters and fisticuffs in parliament before Christmas, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his chosen successor Raila Odinga got what they wanted on 8 January, when the National Assembly...
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The animus triggered by Jomo Kenyatta's Attorney-General haunts today's dynastic politics
Many in the political establishment wanted to ensure that Kenya's first Attorney-General, Charles Mugane Njonjo, who died on 2 January had a 'respectful send-off'. But his passing has...
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Government is on hold as a presidential race reliant on personalities and corralling regional blocs takes centre stage
Big challenges to President Uhuru Kenyatta's government are looming this year on the economic management front and on regional security. But barring a phenomenal new crisis, the political...
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As the campaign heats up between the two frontrunners, the focus is on who they can draw into their rival alliances
In the rollercoaster race for the presidency in August's elections, veteran oppositionist turned establishment candidate Raila Odinga has made a good start in the new year by bringing...
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The treasury holds down the deficit and rakes in cash as tax reforms boost revenues by a third
On paper, Kenya's economy is roaring. The World Bank says the economy has bounced back strongly from the Covid-19 shock. Output for the first half of this year...
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