Kenyas historie - tidslinje

Kenya’s First President: Jomo Kenyatta

Independence

1961 – Jomo Kenyatta was released from two years of house arrest and took over the presidency of Kanu.

1963 – Kenya gained its independence, with Kenyatta as Prime Minister.

1964 – The Republic of Kenya was formed. Jomo Kenyatta became President and Oginga Odinga Vice President.

1966 – Mr Odinga left Kanu after an ideological split and formed the Kenya People’s Union (KPU). 1969 – The assassination of Prime Minister Tom Mboya sparked ethnic unrest. KPU was banned and Odinga was arrested. Kanu was thus the only party to participate in elections.

1974 – Jomo Kenyatta was re-elected.

Me-epochs

1978 – Kenyatta died in office and was succeeded by Vice President Daniel arap Moi.

1982 June – The National Assembly officially declared Kenya to be a one-party state.

1987 – Opposition groups were suppressed. The international community criticised political arrests and human rights violations.

1991 August – The Forum for Restoration of Democracy (Ford) was formed by six opposition leaders, including Oginga Odinga. The party was banned and its members were arrested. Creditors suspended all aid to Kenya amid harsh international condemnation.

1991 December – A special conference in Kanu agreed to reintroduce a multi-party political system.

1992 – Around 2,000 people were killed in a tribal conflict in the west of the country. A multi-party election was held

1992 December – President Moi was re-elected in the multi-party election and Kanu won a strong majority.

1994 – Oginga Odinga died. The opposition groups formed a coalition – the United National Democratic Alliance – but it was plagued by disagreements.

1997 – December President Moi won another term in a much criticised election. His main opponents were former Vice President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga, son of Oginga Odinga.

The embassy bomb

1998 August – Al-Qaeda operatives bombed the US embassy in Nairobi. In the attack, 224 people were killed and thousands injured.

2002 July – Approximately 200 Maasai and Samburu tribesmen accepted more than $7 million in compensation from the British Ministry of Defence. The tribesmen had been left behind or maimed by explosives from the British army that had been left on their lands over the past 50 years.

2002 November – Al-Qaeda attack on Israeli-owned hotel near Mombasa 10 Kenyans were killed three Israelis injured. At the same time, an unsuccessful rocket attack was carried out on an Israeli airliner.

Kibaki victory

December 2002 – Election. Mwai Kibaki wins a landslide victory, ending Daniel arap Moi’s 24-year rule and Kanu’s four decades in power.

October 2004 – Kenyan ecologist Wangari Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize.

2005 November-December – Voters rejected a proposed new constitution in what was seen as a protest against President Kibaki.

December 2007 – Disputed presidential elections led to violence in which more than 1,500 people died. The government and the opposition reached a power-sharing agreement in February, and a committee reached agreement in April. A new constitution was adopted.

2010 July – Kenya joined its neighbours to form a new East African Common Market, which was intended to integrate the region’s economy.

2010 August – A new constitution was drafted to limit the power of the president and to transfer power to the regions. The new constitution was approved through a referendum.

2011 August-September Somali al-Shabab jihadists carried out operations against Kenyan coastal resorts and a refugee camp. They also carried out operations targeting foreigners.

Troops in Somalia

2011 October – Kenyan troops entered Somalia to attack rebels accused of being behind several kidnappings of foreigners on Kenyan soil. Kenya was subjected to several reprisals.

January 2012 – The International Criminal Court ruled that several prominent Kenyans had to stand trial over the 2007 post-election violence.

2012 March – Oil was discovered. President Kibaki hailed it as a “major breakthrough”.

May 2012 – More than 30 people were injured in an attack on a shopping centre in Nairobi by al-Shabab.

2012 August-September – More than 100 people were killed in communal clashes over land and resources associated with coastal areas. Five people died in riots organised by Muslim protesters in Mombasa following the shooting of preacher Aboud Rogo Mohammed, who was accused by the UN of recruiting and funding al-Shabab Islamist fighters in Somalia.

Uhuru Kenyatta’s election victory

2013 March – Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s first president, won the presidential election with just over 50 % of the vote. A challenge to the results, raised by his main rival, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, was rejected by the Supreme Court.

June 2013 – The British government expressed sincere regret at the torture of thousands of Kenyans during the suppression of the Mau Mau rebellion in the 1950s and pledged £20 million in compensation.

September 2013 – Deputy President William Ruto pleaded not guilty at the International Criminal Court to charges of crimes against humanity following the 2007 post-election violence. Al-Shabab stepped up its attacks against the country.

September 2013 – Somali al-Shabab militants attacked the Westgate shopping centre in Westlands, Nairobi, killing more than 60 people and demanding that Kenya’s military withdraw from Somalia.

2014 June – 48 people died after al-Shabab militants attacked hotels and a police station in Mpeketoni, near the resort town of Lamu.

December 2014 – Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court dropped charges against President Kenyatta for the 2007 post-election violence, citing insufficient evidence.

2015 April – Al-Shabab carried out a massacre at Garissa University College in north-west Kenya, killing 148 people.

February 2017 – The government declared a drought affecting a large part of the country to be a national disaster.

May 2017 – A new multi-billion dollar railway line connecting Mombasa with the capital Nairobi was opened. This was the country’s largest infrastructure project since independence.

2017 August-October President Kenyatta was declared the winner of the presidential election in August and re-elected in October.

2020 January – Al-Shabab Somali jihadists attacked the Camp Simba military base near Lamu, killing three Americans.

2022 August – Deputy President William Ruto wins the presidential election with a narrow majority, beating his main rival Raila Odinga.

Source: BBC