If you are a history lover, news junkie, or student of political science, government, international studies, international relations, international law, diplomacy, public policy, etc. then this is a blog that will catch your eye!
On this
day in 1953, future Kenyan President Jomo Kenyatta was sentenced to
imprisonment for his alleged role in the Mau Mau rebellion. Kenyatta was
born in around 1889 to a Kikuyu family, leaving home at a young age to
study and work at a Church of Scotland mission, and from there later
moved to Nairobi. The young Kenyatta became involved in the burgeoning
independence movement that sought to throw off British colonial rule in
Kenya. He entered politics full-time, and became general secretary of
the Kikuyu Central Association, which fought against policies it felt
harmful to Kenyan interests. Kenyatta notably helped to organise the
fifth Pan-African Congress in 1945, which discussed mass nationalist and
independence movements across African countries. In 1947, he was
elected president of the Kenya African Union and took a leading role in
the nationalist movement. The early 1950s saw Kenya rocked by the Mau
Mau rebellion, which was a bloody campaign led by Kikuyu against British
settlers, in retaliation to the violence committed by the British
against the Kenyan people. While there was little evidence linking
Kenyatta to the movement, he was considered a subversive presence and
was thus arrested for supposed involvement in the violence. In April
1953, he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment, and his condition
remained a key issue of the Kenyan independence movement, with frequent
calls for his release. He was finally released in August 1963, and
immediately joined negotiations for Kenyan independence. The new
republic elected Kenyatta as first their prime minister and later as
president, making him Kenya’s first president and founding father. Under
his leadership, Kenya had favourable relations with the West and the
economy boomed, though most of this wealth was concentrated in the
elites. Jomo Kenyatta died at Mombasa in 1978, and was succeeded by
Daniel arap Moi.
“We can ensure decline in mortality rate due to famine, flooding or any climatic deserters by becoming responsible in our communities. Let’s join hands, let’s do this.”
Douglas Maina found a good life in Israel. Now back in Kenya, his business collapsed and he is waiting for any chance, legal or illegal, to get back to Israel and find that better life again.
About 15 years after Kenya gained independence from Great Britain, President Moi came to power. He ruled over Kenya from 1978 to 2002.
In 1982, there were two coup attempts to oust him from power. A few years later, a letter was published that asserted that the Ku Klux Klan was attempting to overthrow the Kenyan government.
From@intelligentlifemagazine: in the slum of #Kibera, #Nairobi’s biggest slum, life is lived for the moment. @JehadNga, an American war photographer, keeps going back to the local boxing club, where it feels as if the men are fighting their own shadows. Here, Mohamed Medi, 22, a featherweight, uses a speed ball during training. The gym has no electricity, so the boxers make use of the last few minutes of daylight. To see the rest of Nga’s photo essay, go to Intelligent Life
Inspired by the well knownHumans of New York photography blog, Humans of Kibera is a project by Kibera News Network (KNN), a group of young citizen video news journalists from Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya. The project documents the lives of the residents of Kibera—the largest urban slum in Africa—on a Tumblr blog.
Between 10:30 and 10:40 am local time on August 7, 1998, suicide bombers parked trucks outside of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and detonated them almost simultaneously.
This horrific tragedy was later linked to Osama bin Laden. In November 1998, the U.S. indicted bin Laden and 20 others. Of those 21 people, only 3 remain at large.
You can read about the tragedy and its aftermath from the perspective of the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya at the time, Prudence Bushnell, by following the link.
Dance, dance, diplomacy! President Obama and
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta made some smooth moves on the dance floor at a state dinner in Nairobi, Kenya.
