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Timeline Kenya
Kenya was also called British
East Africa. (SFEC, 7/26/98, p.T10)
Kenya has 43 ethnic groups.
The population in 1998 was 28
million.
The country covered 220,000
square miles, about twice the size of Nevada.
(SFC, 6/18/97, p.A8)(SFC, 8/8/98, p.A12)
The Bukusu are a Bantu speaking
people. They were surrounded by the Nilotic speaking Iteso, Sabaot,
and Nandi. The Ndorobo were hunter-gatherers. Other ethnic groups
include: the Aweera, the hunter-gatherer Dahalo, the Kamba, Waata,
and Boni (Sanye); the pastoral Orma and Somali; and the
agricultural Malakote, Pokomo, and Mijikenda. The Cushites were
hunter gatherers and pastoralist.
(NH, 6/97, p.40,43)(SFC,12/26/97, p.B7)
Kiswahili is a native Bantu
language. (NH, 6/97, p.40)
----------------------------------------------------
6 Million years ago
In 2000 French researchers found bones in the Rift Valley of
Central Kenya that they called their Millennial Ancestor and
believed to be a direct precursor of humans. Dr. Martin Pickford
and co-discoverers named the fossil Orrorin tugenensis (orrorin
means original man in the Tugen language). The bones were found in
the Lukeino Formation of the Tugen Hills.
(SFC, 2/7/01, p.A10)(SSFC, 4/8/01, p.A12)(AM,
7/01, p.25)
c3.5 Million It was reported in 2001 that a new
flat-faced hominid skull found by Justus Erus of the Leakey group
near Kenya’s Lake Turkana dated to this time. Maeve Leakey named
it Kenyanthropus platyops, “the flat-faced man of Kenya.”
(SFC, 3/22/01, p.A2)(AM, 7/01, p.24)
900,000BP In 2004 Scientists from the US,
Britain and Kenya reported that a skull fragment of a small adult
with some characteristics of Homo erectus was about 900,000 years
old. It was found in 2003 in Olorgesalie, 100 miles southeast of
the capital, Nairobi, Kenya.
(AP, 7/3/04)
100-200AD In East Africa coastal people lived in
village communities. They smelted and forged iron.
(NH, 6/97, p.42)
700-800 The village site of Galu produced the
world’s oldest crucible steel.
(NH, 6/97, p.44)
800-900 A timber mosque was built at Shanga.
(NH, 6/97, p.43)
1200-1300 The great palace and main mosque at
Gede (Gedi) were built.
(NH, 6/97, p.41)
1300-1400 Lamu Town on Lamu Island dates to at
least the 14th century.
(SSFC, 4/15/01, p.T6)
1300-1600 Tombs with decorated pillars called
phallic pillars by the locals are widespread among the Oromo of
Somalia and Kenya, where they symbolize manhood and indicate
interred men.
(NH, 6/97, p.45)
c1500 Gede was abandoned
owing to the salinization of the wells and external invasion. The
Portuguese arrived with little resistance.
(NH, 6/97, p.43,46)
1500-1700 Lamu Island, off the coast of Kenya,
was dominated by the Portuguese after which the Sultan of Oman
made it part of his kingdom.
(SSFC, 4/15/01, p.T6)
1810 Lamu Fort was built
on Lamu Island.
(SSFC, 4/15/01, p.T7)
1863 Feb 15, Samuel and
Florence Baker encountered John Speke and James Grant at the
frontier village of Gondokoro (southern Sudan). Speke and Grant
said they had found the Nile’s headwaters at a lake they named
Victoria (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda).
(ON, 10/01, p.9)
1890s A rail line was
established between Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya, and became the
Lunatic Express from media speculation that the planners were
insane.
(SSFC, 12/22/02, p.C4)
1891 Oct 20, Jomo
Kenyatta, Kenya opposition leader and 1st premier (1963-78), was
born.
(MC, 10/20/01)
1900-1997 In 1999 Brian Herne of Kenya published
"White Hunters," an anecdotal history of safari hunting
over this period.
(WSJ, 7/9/99, p.W10)
1902 The
African Standard was inaugurated at the completion of the East
African Railway from the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa to Lake
Victoria. It was launched by A.M. Jeevanjee, a Karachi-born trader.
Jeevanjee sold the paper in 1905 to two British businessmen, who
changed the name to the East African Standard and in 1910 moved
its headquarters to Nairobi. A few months before independence in
1963, the British-based Lonrho Group bought the newspaper. In
1977, it became a tabloid and the name was changed to the
Standard. In 1995 Lonrho sold its controlling interest to the
Standard Newspapers Group Limited, a company in which prominent
Kenyan politicians are believed to have considerable interests.
The name was changed back to the East African Standard.
(AP, 11/15/02)
1903 Aug 7, Louis
Leakey, anthropologist, archeologist and paleontologist, was born
in Kenya. He believed that Africa was the cradle of mankind.
(HN, 8/7/98)(Internet)
1907 The British forced
the abolition of slavery on the new Sultan of Zanzibar and Lamu
Island went into an economic decline.
(SSFC, 4/15/01, p.T7)
1914-1931 Karen Blixen, Danish author, lived on
a farm near Nairobi, Kenya. Her lover was Denys Finch-Hatton. She
wrote under the name Isak Dinesen. The two were featured in the
1985 film “Out of Africa” that starred Robert Redford and
Meryl Streep. The country was then called British East Africa.
(SFC, 6/17/98, p.E1)(SFEC, 7/26/98, p.T10)
1920 Kenya was made a
crown colony.
(SFC, 9/4/97, p.A10)
1924 Daniel arap Moi was
born.
(WP, 6/29/96, p.A20)
1936 Mar 22, Roger
Whittaker, country singer (Durham Town), was born in Nairobi,
Kenya.
(MC, 3/22/02)
1938 Karen Blixen (Isak
Dinesen) wrote her novel: “Out of Africa.”
(SFEC, 11/3/96, BR p.5)
1944 Jan 19, Richard [Erskine
Frere] Leakey, anthropologist, was born in Nairobi, Kenya.
(MC, 1/19/02)
1952 The Mau Mau start
chopping away in Kenya. The Mau Mau movement was in part due to
the white domination of the rich plateau region. The Mau Mau
separatist group used a toxic plant to poison 33 steers in an act
of rebellion.
(TMC, 1994, p.1952)(SFC, 9/4/97, p.A10)(WSJ,
9/18/01, p.B1)
c1952 The film
“Mogambo” was shot in Kenya. Bunny Allen (d.2002 at 95),
professional hunter, managed a 300-tent camp for the actors and
crew that included Clark Gable and Grace Kelly.
(SFC, 2/18/02, p.B6)
1953 Apr 8, Jomo
Kenyatta (1891-1978), one of modern Africa's earliest nationalist
leaders, was convicted by Kenya's British rulers for leading the
Mau Mau Rebellion against the white settlers of his country. Along
with five other Mau Mau leaders, he was subsequently sentenced to
seven years' hard labor.
(MC, 4/8/02)
1954 The British
government began making preparations for the country’s
Independence.
(SFC, 9/4/97, p.A10)
1961 Sep 10, Jomo
Kenyatta returned to Kenya from exile, during which he had been
elected president of the Kenya National African Union.
(HN, 9/10/98)
1963 May 27, Jomo
Kenyatta was elected 1st prime minister of Kenya.
(MC, 5/27/02)
1963 Dec 12, Kenya
gained independence from Britain and the Kenyan African National
Union Party (KANU) began ruling. Jomo Kenyatta, a Kikuyu, was the
first president and served until 1978.
(SFC, 10/17/96, A8)(SFC, 7/1/97,
p.A9)(AP,12/12/97)(SFC,12/23/97, p.D4)(SFC, 8/8/98, p.A12)
1963 Dec. 13, Kenya
became a republic.
(HFA, '96, p.44)
1964 Dec 12, Kenya
formally became a republic.
(SFC, 9/4/97, p.A10)(HN, 12/12/98)
1967-1977 The East African Community of Kenya,
Tanzania and Uganda established a common shilling that lasted only
a decade as cooperation fizzled.
(WSJ, 1/13/98, p.A1)
1969 Tom Mboya of the
Luo tribe, the expected successor to Jomo Kenyatta, was
assassinated.
(SFC,12/23/97, p.D2)
1977 Kamoya Kimenu, asst.
to Drs. Louis and Mary Leakey, and later to their son Richard
Leakey, was appointed curator pf prehistoric sites for the
National Museums of Kenya. In Oct. 1985, the Nat’l. Geog.
awarded him with the John Oliver La Gorce Medal for accomplishment
in geographic exploration.
(NG, Nov. 1985, edit.)
1977 Kenya banned all
hunting but in the next 20 years a half to a third of the wildlife
still disappeared.
(WSJ, 7/23/96, p.A22)
1977 Kenya Airways began
operating.
(SFC, 1/31/00, p.A5)
1978 Aug 22, In Kenya
Pres. Jomo Kenyatta (1963-1978), a leading figure in Kenya's
struggle for independence, died at age 83. He was succeeded by
Vice President Daniel Arap Moi of the Kalengin tribe, head of the
Kenya African National Union.
(WUD, 1994, p.1691)(SFC, 6/18/97,
p.A8)(SFC,11/27/97, p.B6)(AP, 8/22/98)
1979 Elephant hunting
was banned in Kenya with the herd down to 1.3 million.
(SFC, 4/11/00, p.D2)
1980 Jan 3,
Conservationist Joy Adamson, author of "Born Free," was
killed in northern Kenya by a servant.
(AP, 1/3/98)(WSJ, 9/8/00, p.W4)
1980 Dec 31, A bomb
blast wrecked the Jewish-owned Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya,
killing 15 people and wounding more than 80.
(NYT, 10/8/04, p.A12)
1980 In Nairobi the
Carnivore Restaurant was established by Martin and Geraldine
Dunford.
(SFEC, 6/20/99, p.T14)
1987 Nov 1, Ibrahim
Hussein of Kenya won the New York City Marathon in two hours, 11
minutes and one second; Priscilla Welch of Britain led the women
in two hours, 30 minutes and 16 seconds.
(AP, 11/1/97)
1987 Ngonya wa Gakonya
founded his Tent of the Living God, with an anti-Western creed
based on traditional rituals for age-based groups of the Kikuyu.
The sect was banned in 1990 and Gakonya was briefly jailed. The
Mungiki was a sister sect.
(SFC, 4/1/00, p.A12,14)
1988 Sep, Julie Ward was
killed in the Maasai Mara National Reserve. In 1998 game warden
Simon ole Makallah was arrested for the murder.
(SFC, 9/16/98, p.C2)
1989 May 11, Kenya
announced that it would seek a worldwide ban on the trade of ivory
-- a move intended to preserve its fast-dwindling elephant herds.
(AP, 5/11/99)
1989 Paleontologist
Richard Leakey founded the Kenya Wildlife Service.
(SFC, 9/1/04, p.A10)
1989 George Adamson,
husband of Joy Adamson, was slaughtered at his Kora wilderness
preserve. In 2000 the TV documentary “To Walk with Lions”
dramatized his final days.
(WSJ, 9/8/00, p.W4)
1990 Nov 4, Douglas
Wakiihuri of Kenya and Wanda Panfil of Poland won the New York
City Marathon.
(AP, 11/4/00)
1991 Foreign donors
forced Daniel arap Moi to agree to multiparty politics as a
condition to aid.
(SFC, 10/17/96, C2)
1991 Pres. Daniel Arap
Moi altered the constitution to insure his being elected. The
winner was required to take at least 25% of the vote in 5 of 8
provinces. Only a party with a national base could thus win.
(SFC, 6/18/97, p.A8)
1991 Thousands of Bantus
fled Somalia for Kenya. In 1999 the US designated this group of
people as persecuted and eligible for resettlement in the US.
(NW, 9/2/02, p.35)
1991-1995 In Kenya an estimated 1500 were killed
and 300,000 forced from their homes in clashes between Pres.
Daniel arap Moi’s Kalenjin ethnic group and the Kikuyu, Luo and
Luhya tribes over this time.
(SFC, 6/19/97, p.A12)
1992 Apr 20, Defending
champion Ibrahim Hussein of Kenya became the sixth three-time
winner of the Boston Marathon, while Russia's Olga Markova won the
women's division.
(AP, 4/20/97)
1992 In Kenya the Kakuma
camp was founded for some 30,000 refugees from Sudan.
(WSJ, 10/23/02, p.B1)
1992 Daniel arap Moi was
re-elected with 36% of the vote.
(SFC, 10/17/96, A8)
1992 The government
stopped licensing any new parties that applied for registration.
(SFC, 10/17/96, C2)
1992 In Rift Valley
province state security forces stood by as the Kalenjin and Kikuyu
tribes battled each other prior to the presidential elections.
Ethnic Kikuyus, Luhyas and Luos, who supported the opposition,
were attacked by members of Moi’s home province Kalenjin group.
(WSJ, 12/10/96, p.A22)(SFC, 9/4/97, p.A10)
1992 Three Somali clans
in the Wajir district -- the Ajuran, Ogaden and Degodia broke out
into war after the elections. More than 2,000 people were killed.
(SFC,12/23/97, p.D2)
1993 Jul 10, Kenyan
runner Yobes Ondieki became the first man to run 10,000 meters in
less than 27 minutes.
(HN, 7/10/98)
1993 Paleontologist
Richard Leakey lost his legs in a plane wreck.
(SFC, 9/1/04, p.A10)
1993-1995 Some 50,000 flamingos died in the area
of Lake Nakuru.
(SFC, 3/20/00, p.A14)
1994 Apr 29, Ferry boat
smashed into Mombasa Harbor, Kenya, and over 300 were killed.
(MC, 4/29/02)
1995 Jul, Paleontologist
Richard Leakey began a new political party, Safina, as an
alternative to KANU (Kenya African National Union) and FORD-Kenya
(Forum for Restoration of Democracy).
(SFC, 10/17/96, A8)
1995 Ethnic riots
continue for a second day in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, between
the Luos and the Nubians.
(WSJ, 10/17/95, A-1)
1995 Pres. Daniel arap
Moi defended the Nigerian government in the hanging of Ken
Saro-Wiwa.
(SFC, 10/22/95, P.5) (WSJ, 12/15/95, p.A16)
1995 The three Somali
clans in the Wajir district -- the Ajuran, Ogaden and Degodia
settled their differences in a peace agreement that led to the
formation of the Wajir Peace and Development Committee.
(SFC,12/23/97, p.D2)
1996 May 22, Amnesty
International reported that Kenyan doctors were pressured to
ignore evidence of torture.
(SFC, 5/22/96, p.A9)
1996 Aug, A new rite was
instituted as an alternative to female circumcision. The
“ntanira na mugambo” (circumcision through words) rite
included a week-long counseling program capped by a “coming of
age day.”
(SFC, 9/16/98, p.A23)
1996 Dec 9,
Archaeologist and anthropologist Mary Leakey died in Nairobi,
Kenya at age 83.
(SFC, 12/10/96, p.A6)(AP,12/9/97)
1996 Dec 18, Police
killed 2 students who were protesting the killing of another
student on the previous day.
(SFC, 12/19/96, p.C4)
1996 Wycliffe Olouch,
head librarian in the Garissa District, began using camels to
bring books to children in remote areas.
(SFC, 12/9/98, p.B3)
1997 Jan 5, The Daily
Nation reported that a man stole $1 million by impersonating a
Citibank bank employee. The money had been shipped from NY to a
Kenyan airport freight terminal at the Nairobi Int’l. Airport.
(SFC, 1/9/96, p.A12)
1997 Jan 25, It was
reported that mass starvation was threatening after a widespread
draught this season.
(SFC, 1/25/97, p.A18)
1997 Feb 22, Wadih
el-Hage, a secretary to Osama bin Laden, returned to Kenya from
Sudan.
(SFEC, 1/23/00, p.A24)
1997 Jun, The IMF
froze $30 million in direct aid after the Moi administration
dropped charges against a group of KANU businessmen accused of
defrauding the state of about $500 million.
(SFC, 7/12/97, p.A11)
1997 Jun-Nov, A cholera
epidemic in Kisumu and other towns around Lake Victoria killed 200
people over this period due to contaminated drinking water. The
disease peaked in January after some 3,000 deaths across East
Africa.
(SFEC,11/2/97, p.T14)(SFC, 1/22/98, p.E4)
1997 Jul 7, In Kenya 9
people died during protests for constitutional reform.
(SFC, 7/8/97, p.A8)(SFC, 7/12/97, p.A10)
1997 Jul 9, Armed police
shut down the Univ. of Nairobi and clubbed students who demanded
free and fair elections.
(SFC, 7/10/97, p.C2)
1997 Jul 14, Thousands
of students fought riot police in Nairobi and demanded
constitutional reforms. Nairobi Univ. and Jomo Kenyatta Univ. were
closed indefinitely.
(SFC, 7/15/97, p.A10)
1997 Aug 8, A nationwide
strike was called and declared illegal by the government. In
Nairobi a crowd of some 2,000 gathered and killed Gilbert Simiyu,
a plainclothes police officer. The strike turned into a riot with
looting.
(SFC, 8/9/97, p.C1)
1997 Aug 12, It was
reported that the World Bank joined the IMF in withholding credit
due to government corruption.
(SFC, 8/12/97, p.A1)
1997 Aug 14, Six
officers and 7 civilians were killed in Mombasa when assailants
burned down a police station.
(SFC, 8/15/97, p.A17)
1997 Aug 19, Some 300
kiosks were burned in Malindi.
(SFC, 8/21/97, p.A12)
1997 Aug 20, Police
arrested 2 KANU politicians for instigating violence along the
coastal region. Karisa Maitha and Omar Masumbuko lent credence
that KANU officials were attempting to divert attention from the
reformist movement.
(SFC, 8/21/97, p.A12)
1997 Aug 22, Armed
marauders attacked a church filled with some 2,500 refugees and
killed 2 refugees and wounded a police guard in Linkoni.
(SFC, 8/23/97, p.A12)
1997 Aug 29, Thousands
fled from the Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast in fear of ethnic
violence and attacks from government security forces.
(SFC, 8/30/97, p.A12)
1997 Aug, Kenyan police
with US investigators raided the home of Wadih el-Hage and seized
his papers and computer. Hage was arrested a year later for his
ties to Osama bin Laden and terrorist conspiracy.
(SFEC, 1/23/00, p.A21)
1997 Sep 4, It was
reported that the unemployment rate was 35%.
(SFC, 9/4/97, p.A10)
1997 Sep 11, The
Parliament approved some constitutional reforms but opponents
charged the measures were only meant to diffuse protests.
Detention without trial was ended and greater media access to the
opposition was to be established.
(WSJ, 9/12/97, p.A1)
1997 Oct 6, The
government refused to legalize the Safina (Swahili for ark) Party
led by Richard Leakey.
(SFC, 10/7/97, p.A18)
1997 Oct 10, Riot police
beat up opposition members of parliament while Pres. Moi gave a
speech on “Moi Day,” marking 19 years in power.
(SFC, 10/11/97, p.A10)
1997 Oct 13, Teachers
ended a 12-day strike after the government agreed to a 200% raise.
Their salaries had averaged $35 per month.
(SFC, 10/14/97, p.A12)
1997 Nov 2, John Kagwe
of Kenya won the 28th New York City Marathon in two hours, 8
minutes and 12 second.
(WSJ, 11/3/97, p.A1)
1997 Nov 7, Pres. Daniel
arap Moi signed a package of political and constitutional reforms
that make Kenya a multiparty democracy and provide residents
greater freedom of speech.
(SFC,11/8/97, p.A12)
1997 Nov 10, Pres. Moi
dissolved parliament in preparation for general elections. The
National Convention Assembly denounced the move as illegal.
(SFC,11/11/97, p.A12)
1997 Nov 26, The
government lifted a ban on the liberal Safina party.
(SFC,11/27/97, p.B6)
1997 Dec 29, General
elections were scheduled. The law required the winner to receive
25% of the vote. The elections were extended one day amid
widespread delays and confusion at the polls. Two people were
killed during a riot near Nairobi.
(SFC,11/13/97, p.B2)(SFC,12/26/97, p.B7)(WSJ,
12/30/97, p.A1)
1997 Dec 31, Projected
counts indicated that Moi would win the elections with about 40%
of the vote. Former vice-president Mwai Kibaki had about 30%.
(SFC, 1/1/98, p.A17)
1998 Jan 5, Daniel arap
Moi was scheduled to be inaugurated as president after the
elections gave him 40% or 2,445,801 votes.
(SFC, 1/5/98, p.A12)
1998 Jan 16, The WHO
recommended that travelers take precautions against Rift Valley
Fever, a mosquito born disease that has killed 300 people.
(SFC, 1/17/98, p.A10)
1998 Jan 28, It was
reported that 77 people died in the month in attacks aimed at
ethnic Kikuyus, who opposed Pres. Moi’s re-election.
(WSJ, 1/28/98, p.A1)
1998 Feb 5, Pres. Moi
imposed a curfew on towns in the Rift Valley where over 100 people
have died in ethnic and political violence. Jomo Kenyatta Univ. in
Nairobi was closed following a protest against the violence.
(WSJ, 2/6/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar 26, A fire at a
school near Mombasa killed 25 teenage girls in their dormitory.
(WSJ, 3/26/98, p.A1)
1998 Apr 20, Moses Tanui
of Kenya won the 102nd Boston Marathon in 2 hrs, 7 min . and 43
sec.
(WSJ, 4/21/98, p.A1)
1998 May 15, Three
African nations, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, announced plans for
an economic, political and social union.
(SFC, 5/16/98, p.A11)
1998 Jul 8, It was
reported that elephant poaching had increased in Kenya.
(SFC, 7/9/98, p.A11)
1998 Jul 23, John
Msafari, head of the revenue collection authority, was ordered
arrested along with 15 other officials and businessmen on charges
of defrauding the government of some $3.9 million.
(SFC, 7/24/98, p.D2)
1998 Jul 29, John Harun
Mwau, head of the anti-corruption authority, was suspended by Pres.
Moi.
(SFC, 7/31/98, p.D2)
1998 Aug 7, Two powerful
bombs exploded at the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania. At least 147 [244-247] people were killed and
over 4,800 were injured. 11 [12] of the dead were Americans. In
Nairobi at least 53 buildings were damaged. The adjacent Ufundi
Cooperative House was demolished and the 22-story Cooperative Bank
House had all its windows shattered. Haroun Fazil of the Comoros
Islands was later the 3rd bombing suspect to be charged in the
Kenya bombing. In 2001 Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-‘Owhali (24) of
Saudi Arabia, Khalfan Khamis Mohamed (27) of Tanzania, Wadi
El-Hage (40) of Texas, and Mohamed Sadeek Odeh (36) of Jordan were
convicted on 302 counts.
(SFC, 8/8/98, p.A1)(SFEC, 8/9/98, p.A1)(WSJ,
9/18/98, p.A1)(AP, 8/7/99)(SFC, 5/30/01, p.A13)
1998 Aug 7, Catherine
Bwire (25) was one of 25 people blinded by the bombing in Nairobi.
She was pregnant and gave birth to a daughter on Oct 27.
(SFC, 11/25/98, p.A16)
1998 Aug 7, In Pakistan
Sadik Howaida (34), later named as Mohammed Saddiq Odeh, was
detained at the Karachi airport. He reportedly confessed to
participating in the bombing in Nairobi. He said that he and 2
coconspirators had left Nairobi and planned to enter Afghanistan a
few days before the bombing. He acknowledged that the team was
recruited and financed by Osama bin Laden who was ensconced in a
fortress-style hideout in Kandahar. Odeh later refused to admit
responsibility to American officials.
(SFEC, 8/16/98, p.A17)(SFC, 8/17/98,
p.12,17)(SFC, 8/18/98, p.A6)
1998 Aug 7, In 2000 Ali
Mohamed, a former US Army sergeant, pleaded guilty for his role in
the bombing under the direction of Osama bin Laden.
(SFC, 10/21/00, p.A1)
1998 Aug 8, A group
called the Liberation Arm of the Islamic Sanctuaries claimed
responsibility and threatened more attacks. Israeli troops began
to arrive to assist in rescue efforts.
(SFC, 8/8/98, p.A1)(SFEC, 8/9/98, p.A1)(SFC,
8/10/98, p.A13)
1998 Aug 18, FBI agents,
acting on a tip from Mohammed Saddiq Odeh, raided The Hilltop
Hotel in Nairobi and confiscated 175 pounds of TNT. The room was
reported to have been occupied by 2 Palestinians, a Saudi and an
Egyptian from Aug 3 to Aug 7.
(SFC, 8/19/98, p.A1)
1998 Sep 7, In Kenya the
Central Bank took closed the Reliance Bank due to insufficient
deposits. Five businessmen and 4 officials were charged with fraud.
(WSJ, 9/21/98, p.A22)
1998 Sep 17, In Kenya
the Central Bank took over the Trust Bank due to insufficient
funds, the 2nd closure in 10 days.
(WSJ, 9/21/98, p.A22)
1998 Sep, Richard Leakey
was asked by Pres. Moi to head Kenya’s wildlife services. In Oct.
Leakey resigned from parliament to spend full time with the
wildlife services.
(SFC, 10/28/98, p.A12)
1998 Oct 5, In Kenya
teachers went on a nationwide strike over failed pay raises. 7
million students were idled.
(SFC, 10/6/98, p.A12)
1998 Nov 1, John Kagwe
of Kenya won the NY Marathon in 2:8:45. Franca Fiacconi of Italy
won among the women in 2:25:17.
(WSJ, 11/2/98, p.A1)
1999 Jan 19, From Kenya
it was reported that Pres. Daniel arap Moi ordered the prohibition
of new political parties.
(SFC, 1/19/99, p.A6)
1999 Feb 1, In Nairobi,
Kenya students protested for a 3rd day against plans for
construction in a virgin forest.
(SFC, 2/2/99, p.A10)
1999 Feb 3, It was
reported that Kenyan fisherman were using toxic agricultural
chemicals instead of nets to increase their catch and income from
$8 to $240. The idea supposedly originated in Uganda. Some
fishermen were arrested and beaches were closed.
(SFC, 2/3/99, p.A9)
1999 Feb 16, Turkish
commandoes captured Abdullah Ocalan in Kenya.
(SFC, 2/17/99, p.A1)
1999 Mar 24, In Kenya a
train enroute to Mombasa derailed at high speed in Tsavo East
National Park and at least 32 people were killed.
(SFC, 3/25/99, p.A9)
1999 Apr 14, The US
pledged $37 million to help the Kenyan victims of the 1998 US
Embassy bombing in Nairobi.
(SFC, 4/15/99, p.A15)
1999 Apr 19, The 103rd
Boston Marathon was won by Joseph Chebet of Kenya in 2h:9m:52s.
Fatuma Roba of Ethiopia won the women's category in 2:23:25.
(WSJ, 4/20/99, A1)
1999 May 29, It was
reported that army worms had destroyed over 247,000 acres in Kenya
alone and that Burundi and Rwanda were also infested.
(SFC, 5/29/99, p.A4)
1999 Jul, An estimated
3,000 members of the 28,000 member Mukurwe-ini Coffee Growers
Cooperative took up arms in an effort to split and sell directly
to bean millers due to alleged corruption. Farmers were lucky to
see 6 cents per pound for beans that sold fort $1.06 to $1.16 per
pound on the int'l. market.
(SFC, 11/26/99, p.B5)
1999 Sep 23, In Kenya
police reported that 23 people in Embu were killed by methanol
liquor disguised as whiskey.
(SFC, 9/24/99, p.A14)
1999 Sep 30, In Kenya
Catholic bishops issued a pastoral letter that warned of civil
arrest due to corruption, poverty and other problems. Pres. Moi
was blamed for stalling constitutional reform.
(SFC, 10/1/99, p.D4)
1999 Oct 2, It was
reported that the flamingos of Lake Nakuru had migrated away to
other locations. Environmental stress from industrial refuse and
other wastes was blamed. Fluctuating salinity was also suspect in
that flamingoes feed on the algae spirulina platensis, which
blooms in saline waters. It was later reported that tens of
thousands of flamingos on Lake Bogoria had died since July due to
heavy metals. Flamingo deaths in 2000 were estimated at 600 per
day.
(SFC, 10/2/99, p.A9)(SFC, 3/4/00, p.A8)(SFC,
3/20/00, p.A12)
1999 Oct 22, US Sec. of
State Albright visited Kenya and discussed efforts to curb AIDS
which was claiming 500 Kenyans a day.
(SFC, 10/23/99, p.A11)
1999 Oct 30, In Kenya it
was reported that thousands of residents were feared to have been
exposed to radiation from a thorium compound used in roadway
construction materials in Msambweni
(SFC, 10/30/99, p.A8)
1999 The US designated
the Somali Bantus in Kenya as persecuted and eligible for
resettlement in the US.
(NW, 9/2/02, p.35)
2000 Jan 24, In Uganda
members of the Karamojong tribe attacked and killed 14-100 herders
from Kenya's Pokot tribe in the northern Moriat Hills.
(SFC, 1/28/00, p.A15)
2000 Jan 30, A Kenyan
Airbus 310 crashed into the sea after takeoff from Abidjan, Ivory
Coast. Kenya Airways Flight 431 carried 179 people and 10
survivors were pulled from the water.
(SFC, 1/31/00, p.A1)(WSJ, 1/31/00, p.A1)
2000 Mar 18, It was
reported that some 10,000 cattle, 25,000 camels and 20,000 goats
had starved to death over the last 3 months. 2 million people face
famine and 20 died in the last 2 weeks in the Wajir district.
(SFC, 3/18/00, p.C16)
2000 Mar 29, In Kenya at
least 101 people were killed when a speeding bus collided with
another bus in Kericho. The death toll was reduced to 74.
(SFC, 3/30/00, p.A18)(SFC, 3/31/00, p.E4)
2000 Apr 17, Elijah
Lagat of Kenya won the 104th Boston Marathon. Catherine Ndereba of
Kenya won the women’s race.
(WSJ, 4/18/00, p.A1)
2000 Apr, Nearly 200
lions were culled from the Aberdare National Park in an effort to
protect the bongo antelope population from extinction.
(SFC, 4/29/00, p.A11)
2000 Jun 17, An ongoing
drought was reported to have caused hungry baboons into villages
in search of food. A crop failure for the 3rd consecutive year
placed 22 million Kenyans on the brink of starvation.
(SFC, 6/17/00, p.D8)
2000 Jul 21, It was
reported that the drought in Kenya had caused water and
electricity rationing in Nairobi and an appeal to the UN for $88
million to feed 3.3 million people. 13 million people in 6
countries around the Horn of Africa were at risk of starvation.
(SFC, 7/21/00, p.B7)
2000 Aug 20, In Kenya 16
people were killed after 9 runaway train cars carrying liquefied
gas derailed and exploded at the Athi River station. 9 of 37
injured died soon after.
(SFC, 8/21/00, p.A10)(SFC, 8/22/00, p.A12)
2000 Aug 24, John Kaiser
(67), an American priest of the Society of St. Joseph, was found
shot to death near Naivasha, Kenya. Kaiser was critical of the
government’s human rights record.
(SFC, 8/25/00, p.D7)(AP, 8/11/03)
2000 Sep 4, It was
reported that Tiomin Resources, a Canadian mining firm, planned to
build a $150 million strip mine at a 6,000-acre site at Kwale, 39
miles south of Mombasa. Some 5,000 small farmers were to be
affected. Tiomin was offering deeded owners $115 an acre and $25
per year for use of the acre. A 20-year production run was planned
to start in 2002.
(SFC, 9/4/00, p.A8)
2000 Sep 18, It was
reported that Kenya was losing 50,000 ebony trees annually due to
the thriving wood-carving industry. An estimated 80,000 carvers
used the wood.
(SFC, 9/18/00, p.A8)
2000 Nov 16, Officials
reported that 68 people had died over the last 2 days from
home-brewed alcohol laced with high-octane fuel and mentholated
spirit. The toll was raised to 113 a day later.
(SFC, 11/17/00, p.D2)(SFC, 11/18/00, p.C16)
2001 Jan 15, In East
Africa the presidents of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda formed a
regional partnership, reviving one that collapsed in 1978.
(SFC, 1/16/01, p.A10)
2001 Mar 6, In Kenya the
1st experimental AIDS vaccine, specifically designed for Africa,
was administered.
(SFC, 3/7/01, p.A10)
2001 Mar 26, A dorm fire
at the Kyanguli Secondary School in Machakos killed 58 youths. One
of 2 doors was bolted shut and arson was suspected. The toll soon
rose to 64 as more students died from burns.
(SFC, 3/27/01, p.F1)(SFC, 3/30/01, p.D4)
2001 Apr 1, A bus rammed
a vehicle on a bridge and both plunged into the Sabaki River. At
least 35 people were killed.
(SFC, 4/14/01, p.A10)
2001 Apr 16, Lee Bong Ju
of South Korea won the men’s Boston Marathon in 2:09:43.
Catherine Ndereba of Kenya won among the women in 2:23:53.
(WSJ, 4/17/01, p.A1)
2001 May 26, Sec. of
State Colin Powell met with Pres. Daniel arap Moi of Kenya and
urged to step aside for the 2002 elections.
(SSFC, 5/27/01, p.A12)
2001, Aug 25, It
was reported that Eric Wainaina (27), singer, had a hit with his
song “Nchi Ya Kitu Kidogo,” Kiswahili for “The Country of
Something Small,” a reference to bribes and corruption.
(SFC, 8/25/01, p.A8)
2001 Nov 4, Tesfaye
Jifar of Ethiopia won the NYC Marathon in record time, 2:07:43.
Margaret Okayo of Kenya set a woman’s record of 2:24:21.
(WSJ, 11/5/01, p.A1)
2001 Dec 10, In Kenya
Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan, an al Qaeda operative, was arrested in
Mandera near the Somalia border for involvement in the Aug 7, 1998
US Embassy bombing.
(SFC, 12/11/01, p.A13)
2002 Mar 3, In Kenya the
Taliban gang (Kikuyu) killed 2 members of the Mungiki gang (Luo).
The violence in east Nairobi left at least 20 people dead.
(SFC, 3/5/02, p.A7)
2002 Apr, The government
ended an air traffic controllers’ strike by firing them.
(SSFC, 4/21/02, p.C7)
2002 May 8, The
parliament approved an Amended Books and Newspapers Act that made
it illegal to sell publications that had not been submitted to the
government for review.
(SFC, 5/10/02, p.A20)
2002 Jun, A Masai
village donated 14 cows to the US after belatedly hearing of the
Sep 11 terrorist attacks.
(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.A15)
2002 Jul 13, Police in
northern Kenya opened fire on protesters outside a U.N. refugee
camp, killing three people.
(AP, 7/13/02)
2002 Jul 19, Kenyan
police fired tear gas to disperse university students protesting
in downtown Nairobi in a second day of rioting over the shooting
death of a student.
(AP, 7/19/02)
2002 Jul 19, Britain's
government said it would pay $7 million in compensation to more
than 220 Kenyans who say they are victims of unexploded ammunition
left behind by British troops.
(AP, 7/20/02)
2002 Oct 14, In Kenya
Pres. Moi anointed Uhurru Kenyatta (41), the son of former 1st
Pres. Jomo Kenyatta, as his successor. Tens of thousands gathered
to protest his decision.
(SFC, 10/15/02, p.A9)
2002 Oct 24, In Kenya
would-be carjackers shot and killed Esterlin Abdi Arush (45), a
Somali human rights activist, at the gate of the house where she
was staying in Nairobi.
(AP, 10/25/02)
2002 Oct 25, In Kenya
Pres. Daniel arap Moi announced the end of his 24-year rule,
dissolved parliament and kicked off the campaign for a new
elections.
(SFC, 10/26/02, p.A6)
2002 Nov 3, The NYC
marathon was won by Rodgers Rop of Kenya in 2:08:06; Joyce
Cehpchumba of Kenya won the women’s title in 2:25:55.
(WSJ, 11/4/02, p.A1)
2002 Nov 28, In Kenya 3
suicide bombers attacked an Israeli-owned hotel, killing 13 other
people. At least two missiles were fired at, but missed, an
Israeli airliner taking off from the Mombasa airport.
(AP, 11/28/02)(SFC, 11/29/02, p.A1)(SFC,
11/30/02, p.A1)
2002 Dec 5, Kenya’s
Pres. Moi and Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi met at the White
House with Pres. Bush to discuss terrorism as well as drought,
AIDS and other problems facing Africa.
(AP, 12/6/02)
2002 Dec 27, In Kenya
political veteran Mwai Kibaki (71), head of an opposition alliance
that promised to fight corruption and revive Kenya's ailing
economy, won the elections over Uhuru Kenyatta 62% to 31%.
The opposition alliance won 125 of 210 elective seats in the
National Assembly, breaking the ruling party's 39-year grip on
power.
(AP, 12/28/02)(SFC, 12/28/02, p.A11)(AP,
12/31/02)(AP, 1/2/03)
2003 Jan 6, In Kenya 12
people were killed when members of the outlawed Mungiki sect
attacked minibus operators over control of bus stops in Nakuru, 84
miles northwest of Nairobi. 38 people were soon arrested.
(AP, 1/7/03)
2003 Jan 17, In Kenya
informer William Mwaura Munuhe (27) was found dead at his home in
the affluent Nairobi suburb of Karen, two days after the U.S.
Embassy and Kenyan police tried to trap genocide suspect Felicien
Kabuga.
(AP, 1/21/03)
2003 Jan 24, A plane
carrying members of Kenya's new government crashed, killing one
minister, two pilots and injuring at least three other members of
the government.
(AP, 1/24/03)
2003 Feb 25,
In Kenya Pres. Mwai Kibaki ordered the release of 28 death row
inmates and commuted the death sentences of another 195 inmates to
life in prison, following his campaign pledge to reform Kenya’s
prison system.
(AP, 2/25/03)
2003 Mar 3,
In Kenya US diplomats opened a new embassy in Nairobi, replacing
the one destroyed 4 ½ years ago when terrorists launched attacks.
(AP, 3/4/03)
2003 May 4, In Kenya
floods caused by two weeks of heavy rain have washed out roads and
submerged entire villages, killing at least 30 people and forcing
thousands from their homes.
(AP, 5/5/03)
2003 May 15, Britain
cancelled all flights to and from Kenya following US warnings of a
possible terrorist attack.
(SFC, 5/16/03, p.A12)
2003 May 26, Thomas R.
Odhiambo (72), the Kenyan scientist who founded an int'l insect
research center renowned for giving African farmers low-cost
solutions for pest control, died. He founded the African
Academy of Sciences in 1985.
(AP, 5/28/03)
2003 Jun 3, Police in
Nairobi, Kenya, said a landlord's thugs had hacked 9 people to
death in a campaign to drive out shanty tenants and raise rents.
(WSJ, 6/4/03, p.A1)
2003 Jul 2, A group of
650 Kenyan women won the right to sue the British Ministry of
Defense for rapes by British soldiers that took place over a 26
year period beginning in 1977.
(SFC, 7/3/03, p.A14)
2003 Jul 19, In Kenya a
twin-engine plane carrying 12 American tourists and two South
African crew members en route to a game reserve crashed into Mount
Kenya, apparently killing everyone on board.
(AP, 7/20/03)
2003 Aug 1, In Kenya a
terrorist suspect detonated a hand grenade as he was being
arrested near Mombasa's central police station, killing himself
and a policeman.
(AP, 8/1/03)
2003 Aug 19, It was
reported that women in Kenya had begun rebelling against a
traditional "cleansing" ritual whereby new widows were
required to sleep with a designated "cleanser" in order
to be inherited by male relatives and freed of haunting spirits.
(SFC, 8/19/03, p.A10)
2003 Aug 23, Michael
Kijana Wamalwa (58), Kenya's 8th Vice President, died of an
undisclosed illness after several months of treatment in a
hospital near London.
(AP, 8/23/03)
2003 Aug, Odhiambo Mbai,
Kenya political scientist, was assassinated. He was a key man in
efforts to redraft the constitution.
(Econ, 10/11/03, p.50)
2003 Sep 15, In Kenya
gunmen burst into the home of a senior delegate to a
constitutional convention and shot him to death.
(AP, 9/15/03)
2003 Oct 6, Pres. Bush
met with Kenya's Pres. Kibaki, who asked for help in stabilizing
Somalia.
(WSJ, 10/7/03, p.A1)
2003 Oct, In Kenya Pres.
Kibaki suspended half of the 12-man appeal court and 17 of the
high court's 44 judges. 82 or the country's 254 magistrates were
also sent home. An official inquiry revealed that some judges had
specific charges for favorable verdicts. Replacements were chosen
by members of the "Mount Kenya Mafia," a group of
ministers and mates from the president's Kikuyu tribe.
(Econ, 11/29/03, p.44)
2003 Nov 4, Kenyan-born
former physicist M.G. Vassanji was awarded this year's Giller
Prize, Canada's most glamorous and lucrative literary award. He
took home C$25,000 prize for his novel, "The In-Between World
of Vikram Lall."
(AP, 11/5/03)
2003 Nov 11, It was
reported that the 1st issue of Kwani (So What) magazine, edited by
Binyavanga Wainaina (32), was launched as a quarterly journal of
Kenyan creative writing.
(SFC, 11/11/03, p.D9)
2003 Dec 4, In Kisumu,
Kenya, Tommy Thompson, US Sec. of Health and Human Services,
dedicated a new $6.4 million field laboratory to be operated by
the CDC. It was the largest of its kind in Africa. The local TB
and malaria rates were among the highest in the world.
(SFC, 12/5/03, p.A5)
2004 Jan 8, In Kenya a
new agreement, between the Ministry of Education and the country's
largest and oldest orphanage for HIV-positive children, allowed a
group of children infected with the virus that causes AIDS to
attend public schools.
(AP, 1/10/04)
2004 Feb 7, In northern
Kenya tribal fighting between cattle rustlers and herdsmen killed
at least 13 people, including three children.
(AP, 2/11/04)
2004 Feb 19, In Kenya a
fire raced through a Nairobi slum, destroying hundreds of
ramshackle tin and timber houses and leaving 4,500 families
homeless.
(AP, 2/20/04)
2004 Apr 19, In the
Boston Marathon Timothy Cherigat of Kenya won for the men at
2:10:37; Catherine Ndereba of Kenya won for the women at 2:24:27.
(WSJ, 4/20/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr, Pres.
Kibaki’s government announced that Kenya would no longer
recognize Somali passports.
(Econ, 6/12/04, p.46)
2004 Aug 1, A Kenyan
government spokesman said 7 truck drivers taken hostage in Iraq
have been released.
(AP, 8/1/04)
2004 Sep 28, Kenya said
it will push for an international ban on trade in lion trophies
and skins, expressing concern that the African lion is "under
threat."
(AP, 9/28/04)
2004 Oct 8, Wangari
Maathai (64) of Kenya won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. During the
1980s and 1990s, she also campaigned against government oppression
and founded Kenya's Green Party in 1987. She was repeatedly
arrested and beaten for protesting former President Daniel arap
Moi's environmental policies and human rights record. In 1991
Maathai won the Goldman Environmental Prize.
(AP, 10/8/04)(SFC, 10/9/04, p.A14)
2004 Nov 18, The UN
Security Council opened an extraordinary two-day session in
Nairobi, the first outside its New York headquarters in 14 years.
Sudan topped the agenda. Great Lakes regional foreign ministers
approved a pact for greater cross-border cooperation and
confidence-building. It was due to be adopted at a summit in Dar
es Salaam.
(AP, 11/18/04)(AP, 11/19/04)
2004 Nov 19, Rebel
officials and the Sudanese government committed themselves to
ending the 21-year civil war in southern Sudan before January,
signing an agreement at a special meeting of the UN Security
Council in Kenya.
(AP, 11/19/04)
2004 Nov 19, UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan urged leaders of Africa's
blood-soaked Great Lakes region to implement a peace plan that
could herald a "new era" for millions of Africans.
(AP, 11/19/04)
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