Writing Resources
Colonial History Modern day Kenya was first colonized by the Imperial British East Africa Company as the British East Africa Protectorate on the 1st July 1895 Under British rule Kenya was subject to harsh social economic and political policies Racial discrimination protected under the law was also widespread Large amounts of land were set aside only for white Europeans and blacks were forced to work for minimal wages on poor settler farms However these conditions strengthened the Kenyan s desire for independence so the British colonial government produced constitutional proposals to let the Africans directly elect their representatives In the elections of 1957 the first election under this new constitution eight prominent African leaders including the future President Daniel Moi were elected They then formed an organization to fight for independence called the Kenya African National Union KANU Eventually due to massive pressure from KANU and the Kenyan people the British granted Kenya its independence on December 12 1963 Political Organization Kenya is a Representative Democracy and a Presidential Republic The nation has a multi party political system with three branches the legislative which consists of Parliament the judiciary which consist of the Presidential appointed seven member Supreme Court and the executive which consists of a President Uhuru Kenyatta a Deputy President William Ruto and a Presidential appointed Cabinet The National Assembly and the Senate are the two chambers that make up Kenya s Parliament the legislative branch of the country
