Vol 60 No 15 | KENYA Spinner caught in web 26th July 2019 In the months leading up to the August 2017 polls in Kenya, rumours flew that data-mining consultancy Cambridge Analytica, then at the height of its notoriety, had been hired by Pr...
Vol 60 No 14 | KENYA Roads, rails, pots and kettles 12th July 2019 Westerners are fuelling fears about the government’s appetite for Chinese loans. But their funding models are not that different According to some of the opinion columns in its newspapers, Kenya is currently on a reckless borrowing spree in which the country has mortgaged some of its key assets – notably Mom...
Vol 60 No 13 | KENYA 'Rot' in the Commission 28th June 2019 A parliamentary probe into the management of the 2017 elections found serial irregularities and recommends possible criminal charges When, in April, the Kenyan parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) delivered its report on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission's performance during the 2017 el...
Vol 60 No 9 | KENYA Belt, road and pork barrel 3rd May 2019 The President heads into uncharted territory in dealings with China but also with opponents and allies at home While the leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Mozambique brought their official staff to China's recent Belt and Road Forum last week, Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta also br...
Vol 60 No 8 | KENYA Big data state 19th April 2019 A new compulsory identity card raises questions about privacy, the succession and the President’s business friends Although overshadowed by President Uhuru Kenyatta's annual State of the Nation address on 4 April, the political establishment came together in a rare episode of bipartisanship to ...
Vol 60 No 3 | KENYA The President's anger 8th February 2019 Kenyatta’s frustration with the slowness of change is visible as he looks to his legacy and Ruto ponders the next election For a leader who has tamed the political ambitions of the main opposition party and brought it to support his government's national unity and development agenda, President Uhuru Ke...
Vol 60 No 2 | KENYA Three's a crowd 25th January 2019 The marriage of convenience between Uhuru and Raila will start to unravel as money grows tight and a rival consort asserts himself Kenya's political landscape in 2019 will be dominated by two-way competition between Deputy President William Ruto of the ruling Jubilee Party and former Prime Minister Raila Oding... READ FOR FREE
Vol 59 No 24 | KENYA The year of the empty threat 7th December 2018 Twelve months into Uhuru’s second term, Kenyans are taking stock, and taking aim at the failures in the anti-corruption campaign Commentators and pundits have been giving their verdicts on the first year of President Uhuru Kenyatta's second term of office since the anniversary fell on 28 November. There is s...
Vol 59 No 19 | KENYA Populists hack at the budget 28th September 2018 Backbench Jubilee and Nasa MPs are ganging up against revenue plans by President Kenyatta and Raila Odinga On Tuesday 18 September, President Uhuru Kenyatta's governing Jubilee party and the opposition (at least in name) National Super Alliance (Nasa), led by Raila Odinga, held separate...
Vol 59 No 18 | KENYA Fuelling a debt crisis 14th September 2018 Deadlock over plans to raise fuel taxes to satisfy the IMF risks derailing the President’s economic plans Kenya's debt burden has been growing rapidly for the past four years, rising from 45% of GDP to near 60% now. Solid growth rates have given leaders freedom to ignore the warnings o...