Vol 61 No 23 | KENYA A divisive plan for unity 19th November 2020 A new report is supposed to be the blueprint for sweeping reforms but it has deepened the split between the president and his deputy Three years after President Uhuru Kenyatta won re-election in polls boycotted by opposition leader Raila Odinga, the two erstwhile rivals sat on a red-carpeted podium at the Bomas...
Vol 61 No 21 | KENYA A DIY debt trap 22nd October 2020 The government has turned down debt deferral and plans to increase borrowing, prompting growing doubts about its judgement President Uhuru Kenyatta's government insists it will not take advantage of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) offered by the Group of 20 wealthy nations to mitigate the...
Vol 61 No 20 | KENYA Raila's path to power 8th October 2020 After four unsuccessful election attempts, Raila Odinga's path to the presidency now rests on his improbable alliance with President Uhuru Kenyatta. Many in his Luo community still welcome...
Vol 61 No 19 | KENYA Keeping up with the Kenyattas 24th September 2020 As they take the field, the battle between the President and his deputy is testing the limits of ethnic politics 'You should go and insult your mother, not mine' said President Uhuru Kenyatta on 10 September to a small crowd just outside Nairobi. He was referring to two...
Vol 61 No 17 | KENYAUNITED STATESTRADE Trading favours 27th August 2020 A trade deal between Nairobi and Washington appears to make political and economic sense for both sides but critics see dangers for Kenyatta President Donald Trump has used his presidency to launch trade wars against China, the European Union and his North American Free Trade Association partners. His government has blocked...
Vol 61 No 17 | KENYA The Kenyatta-Odinga deal starts fraying 14th August 2020 As the Building Bridges Initiative stalls, politicians are readying for a battle over the top jobs The Building Bridges Initiative – the political deal concocted between opposition leader Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta – is in trouble again. Enough trouble to merit requiring...
Vol 61 No 16 | KENYA From a grateful nation 6th August 2020 Not content with being among the world's best-paid politicians, Kenyan lawmakers have ensured that their predecessors are also amply rewarded for their service. On 5 August, after 10...
Vol 61 No 15 | KENYAWORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION A favourite for an impossible job 23rd July 2020 After several near misses in her search for a top international job, Amina Mohamed is a WTO front-runner. But what does she stand for? Of all the candidates gunning for the helm of the World Trade Organisation, Amina Mohamed probably ranks as the best prepared for the contest. Along with the rival...
Vol 61 No 14 | KENYA A big tent for Moi's children 9th July 2020 The President's attempts to co-opt oppositionists has reunited young Turks promoted by the late President Moi Thirty years after the Saba Saba protests triggered the battle for the restoration of multiparty politics in Kenya, veterans of that struggle might be troubled to see that...
Vol 61 No 12 | KENYA Uhuru takes it out on his party 11th June 2020 An angry President Kenyatta vents his frustrations on dissident Jubilee MPs. His deputy stays within the tent for now For the first time in three years, President Uhuru Kenyatta invited all 404 Jubilee Party legislators – 337 MPs and 67 Senators – to a parliamentary group meeting...