General Information
Kenya is among the most preferred locations for multinationals wishing to expand their business into Africa. Kenya is within the East African region, and it consists of an extensive coastline along the Indian Ocean, a factor that gives the country a key advantage in terms of trade since it acts as a significant link to the landlocked countries within the region. Kenya is a rich country in terms of natural resources, including wildlife, mountain highlands, lake lands, and minerals. Mainly, Kenya is an agricultural country, with its significant exports comprising of tea and coffee among other food products. As at the 2017 World Bank statistics, Kenya's population was estimated at 49.7 million ( The World Bank, 2017) . Further, the country’s population is diverse in terms of racial or ethnic groups, consisting of 42 tribes, each of which possesses unique cultural practices, language, skills, and values.
The indigenous people of Kenya are classified into three major groups, including the Cushites, Nilotes, and the Bantus. The Bantus are mainly found in the country’s Western, Central, and Coastal regions. The group occupies less than 30% of the land base in Kenya; however, it forms over 70% of the country’s population ( Pateman & Elias, 2014) . The major Bantu communities include the Kamba, Luhya, and the Kikuyu. The Agikuyu or Kikuyu are the largest ethnic group in Kenya, forming 22% of the country’s total population ( Pateman & Elias, 2014) . The Kikuyu are predominantly farmers, and their highly enterprising nature further characterizes them. On the other hand, the Luhya form the second largest ethnic group in the country, and they mainly occupy the Western region. They comprise of 17 sub-tribes, with each speaking a unique dialect, The dominant tribes are the Maragoli and the Bukusu; other sub-groups include the Mariachi, Wanga, Tura, Tiriki, Tachoni, Saamia, Manyala, Kisa, Khayo, Kabras, Isukha, Idakho, Gisu, and the Banyore ( Pateman & Elias, 2014) . The third largest Bantu community and they are famous for their outstanding skill in wood carving. Other Bantu communities include the Taita, Mijikenda, Meru, Mbeere, Kuriam Kisii, and the Embu.
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On the other hand, the Nilotic people are predominantly fishermen and pastoralists, and they reside around Lake Victoria and the Rift Valley region. The most significant Nilotic tribes include the Kalenjin, Luo, Samburu, Turkana, and the Maasai. The Turkana, Samburu, and the Maasai are nomadic pastoralists who have rejected modern trends and retained most of their traditions, with the most notable element being the mode of dressing ( Pateman & Elias, 2014) . The Luo, on the other hand, live along the shores of Lake Victoria and are recognized as the third largest ethnic group in Kenya, and they are known for their outstanding fishing culture. Finally, the Kalenjin, mainly found in the Rift Valley region, are known for their exceptional athletic prowess.
Moreover, the Cushitic people mainly reside in the semi-arid and arid areas in the North-Eastern and Eastern parts of Kenya. Cushites are predominantly nomadic pastoralists mostly owning large herds of goats, cattle, sheep, and camels. The group maintains close ties with their kinsmen living in the neighboring countries of Somalia and Ethiopia ( Pateman & Elias, 2014) . The Somali form the largest group of Cushites in Kenya. Other minority ethnic groups found in the country include the Kenyan Asians, Europeans, and the Arabs. The Asian community living in Kenya is mainly Indian, mainly consisting of descendants of the Indian laborers brought into the country in the 19th century to aid in the construction of the Kenya-Uganda railway ( Pateman & Elias, 2014) . They are very successful business people in the country, and they mainly live in close-knit societies. On the other hand, Kenyan Arabs mostly live along the country's Indian Ocean coastline, primarily consisting of descendants of the Persian, Omani, and Yemeni traders that entered Kenya in the pre-colonial times. The intermarriage between the Bantus and Arabs resulted in a new ethnic group, the Swahili community. Finally, the Kenyan Europeans are mainly of the British origin, most of who opted for Kenyan citizenship after the country gained its independence in 1963 ( Pateman & Elias, 2014) . Most of the Kenyan Europeans are less involved in politics, with a number owning large pieces of land for ranching and agriculture in the Rift Valley region.
Kenya's GDP per capita is estimated at 1,507.81 USD as of 2017 ( The World Bank, 2017) . GDP per capita refers to the measure of the economic output of a country that accounts for a country’s population. Hence, it is regarded as the most appropriate measure of the standard of living in a country. On the other hand, Kenya’s Human Development Index (HDI) is estimated at 0.590 as of 2017 (undp.org, 2017). The ranking placed the country at position 142 out of 189 territories and countries in the medium human development category. Kenya’s HDI value grew from 0.468 to 0.590 between 1990 and 2017, which represents a 26.1% increase (undp.org, 2017). During the same period, the country’s life expectancy at birth grew by 9.8 years, the expected years of schooling by 3.0 years, while the mean schooling years increased by 2.8 years (undp.org, 2017). On the other hand, the country’s Gross National Income (GNI), which measures the standard of living, grew by approximately 28.9% in the period between 1990 and 2017 (undp.org, 2017).
The HDI refers to a summary measure that helps in assessing long-term progress in the three major human development dimensions, including a decent standard of living, access to knowledge, and healthy and long life. Life expectancy is used in measuring a long and healthy life, while the level of experience is measured using the mean education years in the adult population. The years reflect the average number of education year that people aged 25 years and older receive in a lifetime. Access to knowledge and learning, on the other hand, is measured using the total number of schooling years that children of school entry age expect to receive if the current trends of age-specific enrolments remain constant throughout the life of a child.
Freedom House Scores
Freedom House refers to an independent watchdog organization that researches human rights, political freedom, and advocacy on democracy. According to the organization, although Kenya is a multi-party democracy that holds elections regularly, its civil and political liberties are extensively undermined by the brutality of security forces as well as corruption (Freedom House, 2019). Further, the country demonstrates a vibrant civil society and media sector even though civil society workers and journalists are highly vulnerable to intimidation and restrictive laws. Freedom House ranks Kenya as a partly free country in terms of freedom status, whereby in both 2017 and 2018, the state scored 4/7 in the freedom ratings, political rights, and civil liberties. Overall, Kenya scored an aggregate of 51 out of 100 in 2017, and 48 out of 100 in 2018 (Freedom House, 2019).
Economic position
Kenya recently attained the lower middle-income class status, and the country is working towards achieving the higher middle-income status, which requires increased economic growth and more efficient inclusion of the extension. Some of the critical initiatives that Kenya is implementing in a bid to attain the higher status include the Big 4 Agenda and the Vision 2030. Moreover, the World Bank ranked Kenya as one of the critical leading economies in Africa and the largest economy in East Africa. The Vision 2030 focuses on making the country a middle-income as well as a newly industrialized nation ( The World Bank, 2017) . Despite the improvement in economic position, the higher levels of wealth have not benefited the entire population. According to the World Bank (2017), significant social, gender and economic disparities are still evident; with approximately a third of the country’s population is still living under the internationally determined poverty line. According to the World Bank (2017), the current incidence of poverty in Kenya is relatively high when compared to its peers in the middle-income status. Further, the responsiveness of poverty to growth in Kenya remains relatively low compared to its peers, which record significant levels of poverty reduction with increases in economic growth.
Classification and Structure of Government
Kenya is mostly a liberal democracy; this structure of government refers to a system where rulers are constrained by the constitution to respect the rights of individuals, and where people consent to their rulers (Human Rights Watch, 2019). Under the liberal democracy structure, the representative democracy operates with the liberalism principles that are commonly enshrined within the law, specifically those about the protection of individual rights ( Toplišek, 2019) . The key characteristics of the system include competitive elections between different political parties, free and fair elections, inclusion of the rule of law in all aspects of the society, separation of powers into different government branches, and equal protection of civil rights, human rights, political freedoms, and civil liberties for all groups of people.
Several people haveprimarilyy influenced the development of Kenya's system of government as well as the country's political history. Some of the key people that have made significant contributions to Kenya'slegislativel history include the country's first President, Jomo Kenyatta, the second President, Daniel Arap Moi, Ronald Gideon Ngala, and the third President, Mwai Kibaki (Hope, 2012). President Kenyatta’s regime worked towards limiting the extent of democracy in Kenya by influencing the shift from a democracy to a single-party state (Hornsby, 2012). With the ascent of President Moi into power, other political parties were outlawed, an element that receivedgreate resistance for approximately ten years. Kenya held her first multiparty elections in 1992 (Hornsby, 2012). On the other hand, President Kibaki contributed to the country’s system of government through the amalgamation of the new Constitution, which embraced the county system of governance, whereby the country is divided into 47 counties (Hope, 2012).
Besidesn, Kenya possesses a presidential system in place of a parliamentary system. Under the presidential system, the president is responsible for heading both the state and the government ( Verma, 2010) . Moreover, the system is characterized by a separate and independent legislature and the executive. However, the legislature possesses powers to impeach the president. Further, the president possesses veto power, which enables him or her to block laws that need a parliamentarymore substantialr majority to overturn. Additionally, the president under the presidential system cannot dissolve or dismiss parliamen, and is also not responsible to the parliament. Anothercriticaly characteristic of the system is thatthe people directly elect the presidente, and the elections are fixed and specific ( Verma, 2010) . Under this system, in cases where the president is not able to lead, the vice president assumes the present’s position.
Further, the system requires cabinet secretaries or the heads of ministriesonly to remainn answerable to the president. The cabinet secretaries create departments within their ministries to implement government policies, and they are not part of the legislature.Primarilyy, the roles of the president under the presidential system are ceremonial; for instance, the president presides over official occasion and appoints the Cabinet Secretaries ( Verma, 2010) . In the Kenyan context, the president possesses both ceremonial and executive powers. In addition to being the head of government and state, he or she has powers to hire and fire the Attorney General as well as cabinet secretaries. The president also plays the role of the Commander in Chief of the Kenya Defense Forces, which is a ceremonial role.
Kenya’s electoral system operates within a presidential system and multi-party democracy framework. At the national level, the country possesses a bicameral parliament that consists of the Senate and the National Assembly. The Senate, which comprises of 68 members, consists of 47 members that are elected directly from each county, as well as 21 members that are nominated by political partiesperh the share of seats that they possess in the body (IEBC, 2019). The National Assembly, the Senate, and the President are all elected by voters directly, whereby the elections are organized and planned by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). The IEBC is responsible for supervising or conducting elections and referenda. The appointment and composition of commissionersares guided by the IEBC Act, which outlines that the commission should comprise of 8 members and a chairperson (IEBC, 2019).
In terms of the judiciary, Kenya's highest court is the Supreme Court, and its decisionsinfluencee the operations of other lower courts. There exists judicial review in Kenya whereby aggrieved persons can find reprieve in the courts (The Judiciary of Kenya, 2019). Moreover, despite the introduction of the country governments through the New Constitution, Kenya is a unitary state; this form of state involves the central government as the ultimate supreme power. The country possesses a written constitution, which has been in place since 1963 (The Judiciary of Kenya, 2019). However, on the 27th of August 2010, the New Constitution replaced the independence constitution. The New Constitution isprimarily supportedd by the people, whereby 67% voted for i, and it is considered to be highly effective although some areas have been cited to require amendments (The Judiciary of Kenya, 2019).
Competition, Stability, and Civil Society
As of 2019, Kenya has 77 registered political parties according to the records of the Registrar of Political Parties. Out these parties, themost influentiall parties are the Jubilee Party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), and the Wiper Democratic Movement. The major political parties in Kenya are mainly divided along tribal lines, which make conflicts between the partiesmostlyy ethnic. The people of Kenya are highly democratic, and they are not forced to vote; hence, voting is voluntary. In the recent election held in August 2017, Kenya recorded a voter turnout of approximately 79.17% (International Commission of Jurists, 2017). In the Legislative branch, the voting process saw the voting of 47 members of the Senate, and 290 members of the National government, all elected through a majority vote.
In terms of parties, Jubilee had 24 seats, the National Super Alliance had 28, others had 14, andone1 independent candidate in the Senate. On the other hand, the number ofplacess acquired by each party in the National government comprised of 62 for the National Super Alliance, 140 for the Jubilee party, while 118 belonged to other parties (International Commission of Jurists, 2017). One of the most notable political changes that have occurred in the recent past is the ‘Handshake’ which involved the opposition leader coming together with the President so that they can work together rather than perpetuating conflicts. The ‘Handshake’ plays a vital role in enhancing the country's growth since it helps in creating an environment where political leaders speak one voice in terms of development. Sucha situationt isideall for foreign investors since it ensures minimal political conflicts and instability that may affect the ability of the investors to maximize their income.
Economic Environment
Given Kenya’s stable economic, social, and political environment, it is an ideal region for foreign investment. According to the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs (2017), Kenya forms one of the largest recipients of foreign direct investment in Africa, a factor that ismostly associatedd with the government's moveto implement and take measures that attract FDI activelyI. Such measures include simplifying the process of resolving insolvency and payment of taxes, strengthening minority investor protections and access to credit, simplification ofthe pthe opertyy registration process, shortening the processing term, as well as simplifying business creation procedures. Kenya is also increasingly focusing on the creation of public-private partnerships to influence FDI inflows, which are vital to the achievement of the country’s vision 2030 (Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, 2017). Foreign investors are stand to benefit a lot from investing in the country through such incentives as the tax benefits offered for firms producing export products within the export processing zones. The country is also an economic hub in the region, which gives foreign investors a key advantage. However, some of thecriticaly challenges that foreign investors are likely to encounter include corruption, an ineffective rule of law, ethnic and social divisions, shortages of skills, poor quality infrastructures, and instabilities that relate to politics and terrorist risks.
Thecriticaly economic issue facing Kenya at the moment mainly relates to corruption, wherebyvaste amounts of funds meant to improve the country's infrastructure have been embezzled, leaving the country crippled in terms of development and economic growth. In terms of relationships with other countries, Kenya maintains close ties with its neighbors; however, Kenya faces acriticalyterroristm threat from Somalia, which hosts themore significantr proportion of the Al-Shabab militia. In the global context, Kenya maintains a good relationship with China, Europe, and the U.S (Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, 2017). Presently, Kenya is focusing onkeepingg trade ties with the U.S. and Europe, as well as China, which providesessentiall goods and services at reasonable costs.
References
Bureau of Economic And Business Affairs. (2017). Kenya. Retrieved from https://www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/othr/ics/2017/af/269745.htm
Freedom House. (2019). Kenya. Retrieved from https://freedomhouse.org/country/kenya
Hope, K. (2012). The political economy of development in Kenya . New York: Continuum International Pub. Group.
Hornsby, C. (2012). Kenya:: a history since independence . London New York: I.B. Tauris.
Human Rights Watch. (2019). KENYA'S UNFINISHED DEMOCRAC.. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/kenya2/Kenya1202.htm
IEBC. (2019). Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. Retrieved from https://www.iebc.or.ke/
International Commission of Jurists. (2017). Reports. Retrieved from https://icj-kenya.org/reports/category/6-reports
Pateman, R. & Elias, J. (2014). Kenya . New York, NY: Cavendish Square.
The Judiciary of Kenya. (2019). Supreme Court – The Judiciary of Kenya. Retrieved from https://www.judiciary.go.ke/courts/supreme-court/
The World Bank. (2017). Kenya | Data. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/country/kenya
Toplišek, A. (2019). Liberal democracy icrisis: : rethinking resistance under neoliberal governmentality . Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
undp.org. (2017). Human Development Data (1990-2017) | Human Development Reports. Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/data
Verma, G. (2010). Parliamentary versua s presidential system of government . New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors.
