Kenya 2001
Yearbook 2001
Kenya. Kenya’s already precarious economic situation was expected to deteriorate even more after Parliament rejected a government proposal to revive the authority to fight corruption. See thedressexplorer.com for Kenya history.
The Anti-Corruption Authority was appointed in 1997 but in practice lost all authority in 2000, when the Constitutional Court denied its power to prosecute. The opposition politicians who voted against the bill argued that the law was so vaguely worded that the authority should not have gained any real power.
When resolute measures against corruption were a condition that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had set to resume lending, Parliament’s decision was seen as an economic disaster for the country. The IMF immediately announced that credit of about $ 40 million would be withheld. The IMF’s decision was expected to cause other lenders to freeze their payments, which in total is estimated to cause a loss of up to $ 300 million from the state budget.
Kenya’s first coalition government was formed in June, when Raila Odinga, leader of the National Development Party (NDP), was appointed Minister of Energy. The NDP received another government post. Odinga was previously a sworn opponent of President Daniel arap Moi, but is believed to have expected the cooperation to strengthen his own position before the presidential election in 2002, when Moi must resign.
The well-known anthropologist and conservationist Richard Leakey left the post of Head of State Administration after less than two years. No reason for the departure was announced, but he was too eagerly believed to have tried to overcome the high-level corruption and to have acquired powerful enemies.
- Abbreviationfinder: lists typical abbreviations and country overview of Kenya, including bordering countries, geography, history, politics, and economics.
December
Somalia breaks diplomatic ties with Kenya
December 15
Somalia breaks diplomatic ties with Kenya. It comes after Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta received Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi in Nairobi and promised to maintain good ” bilateral ” relations. Somaliland declared itself an independent state in 1991, but has not been recognized by the outside world. The Mogadishu government still sees Somaliland as part of Somalia. In November, Somalia recalled its ambassador from Kenya and expelled the Kenyan ambassador to Somalia after accusations that Nairobi was interfering in Somali politics (see November 2020). It is uncertain how this will affect Kenya’s participation in the African Union, the AU’s participation in the Amisom peacekeeping force in Somalia.
November
Somalia withdraws ambassador from Kenya
November 30
Somalia is recalling its ambassador from Kenya and making accusations that the neighboring country is interfering in Somalia’s internal affairs. At the same time, the Somali government is urging Kenya to call in its ambassador to Mogadishu for consultations. It claims that Kenya has put pressure on Jubaland (in some sources spelled Jubbaland) for trying to persuade the state to reject the election plan concluded in Somalia in September. Kenya supports the current administration in Jubaland, led by Ahmed Mohamed Islam, better known as “Madobe”.
Convicted terrorist commits suicide
November 29
A Tanzanian man sentenced to life in prison for involvement in the terrorist attack on the University of Garissa in 2015 (see April 2015) has taken his own life in prison.
US blacklists al-Shabaab leaders
November 17
The United States is putting two leaders of the Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab on its special terror list because of their involvement in an assassination attempt in Kenya in January 2020, in which three Americans were killed (see January 2020). They are Maalim Ayman, leader of Jaysh Ayman, an elite unit within the Islamist militia, and Abdullahi Osman Mohamed, an explosives expert and head of al-Shabaab’s media. The January attack was the first time al-Shabaab had attacked a US base.
The curfew is extended
November 4
President Uhuru Kenyatta is extending the night curfew imposed to stop the further spread of the covid-19 virus until January 3. This applies between ten in the evening and four in the morning. All political meetings are also banned for 60 days. This is happening since the number of confirmed cases of covid-19 has increased rapidly in October, with 15,000 new cases. A total of 58,000 cases of the viral disease have been reported in Kenya.
Kenya is urged to hand over criminal suspects to the ICC
November 4
ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda calls on Kenya to hand over two men suspected of trying to influence witnesses in the case of the indictment of Kenya’s incumbent Vice President William Ruto for his role in the violence after the 2007 election. Earlier in the week, a lawyer, Paul Gicheru, who is suspected of bribing six prosecutors in the trial against Ruto and radio director Joshua arap Sang. The trial against the men was closed in 2016. Two years earlier, the trial against Kenya’s current president Uhuru Kenyatta had also been closed.
Population 2001
According to Countryaah, the population of Kenya in 2001 was 36,624,784, ranking number 33 in the world. The population growth rate was 2.760% yearly, and the population density was 64.3513 people per km2.
