Kenya: Violence after presidential elections - timeline
Searching more than 75 years of world history
Timeline
October 2007. President Mwai Kibaki dissolves the National Assembly (the unicameral legislature), paving the way for a general election in December. September 2007. Kibaki announces the formation of the Party of National Unity (PNU); ethnic clashes erupt over land access. August 2007. The Orange Democratic Movement of Kenya (ODM-K) splits into two factions. July 2007. Kibaki appoints David Mwiraria to the post of minister for environment and natural resources, despite Mwiraria's earlier resignation from the cabinet over a corruption scandal. January 2007. Kibaki is endorsed as party leader of the National Rainbow Coalition-Kenya (NARC-Kenya). November 2006. The UK minister of state for Commonwealth and foreign development makes controversial remarks about continued corruption in Kenya after Kibaki restores four ministers to the cabinet, two of whom had resigned in connection with financial scandals. February 2006. Finance Minister David Mwiraria resigns in connection with the so-called Goldenberg financial scandal. January 2006. The World Bank approves a US$25 million loan to improve government function in Kenya, even as reports surface of development money being used to purchase luxury vehicles for ministers’ personal use. December 2005. Kibaki appoints a new cabinet, which includes no Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) representation. November 2005. The government led by Kibaki loses a referendum to strengthen presidential power. February 2005. John Githongo, permanent secretary for ethics and governance, resigns as the country's senior anti-corruption official, in a blow to Kibaki’s anti-corruption campaign. June 2004. Kibaki announces a national unity government in a televised address to the country. The cabinet now includes figures from the opposition Kenya African National Union (KANU) and the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-People (FORD-People), and Raila Odinga as minister of roads and public works. However, the reshuffle appears to marginalise the LDP. December 2002. Kibaki, a Kikuyu from Central Province, is elected president in a landslide victory over President Daniel arap Moi of KANU. November 1999. The Kenyan National Assembly unanimously approves a constitutional amendment affirming the Assembly's supremacy and curbing the powers of the presidency. October 1999. Members of the Kenya National Assembly sit "stunned in their seats" when they learn of the quantities of money lost and unaccounted for from state accounts. April 1998. Following the victory of Moi in presidential elections, organised attacks against the Kikuyu community in the Northern Rift Valley are carried out by members of Moi’s Kalenjin people. January 1998. Moi is sworn in as president; KANU now holds 109 of the 209 seats in the legislature. December 1997. An election victory for Moi is tainted by accusations of vote-rigging and problems with the distribution of ballot papers. September 1995. The IMF cancels a US$200 million loan to Kenya in reaction to the Goldenberg gold export fraud case. September 1993. Inter-ethnic violence claims as many as 1,000 lives in Nakuru district, Rift Valley Province. January 1993. Moi and KANU win an overwhelming majority in elections denounced by the three main opposition parties as rigged. Moi begins his fourth consecutive term in office. December 1991. The legislature repeals the one-party section of the constitution, ending nine years during which KANU was the only legal party in the country. February 1991. Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, father of Raila and former vice president of Kenya (1964-1966), announces the formation of the opposition National Democratic Party (NDP). July 1990. Moi's government violently represses pro-democracy demonstrations and detains opposition leaders. May 1989. Kenyan Vice President Josephat Karanja is forced to resign after the KANU party passes a motion in the legislature accusing him of disloyalty to Moi. July 1987. UK-based human rights group Amnesty International publishes a report alleging an escalation in political repression and human rights violations in Kenya. August 1982. The government disbands the air force following a coup attempt by air force members. May 1982. Oginga Odinga is expelled from KANU. A one-party state is declared and dissidents are arrested. August 1978. Vice President Moi accedes to the presidency following the death of President Jomo Kenyatta. March 1975. Josiah Mwangi Kariuki, "leader of the opposition" in Kenya's single-party legislature, is assassinated. January 1969. The government withdraws the trading licences of over 700 non-Kenyan traders. May 1968. Tens of thousands of Asian Kenyans flee to the UK after Kenyatta’s "Kenyanisation" campaign. July 1966. The government institutes laws increasing its ability to arrest, detain, and impose curfews; six ethic Indians are ordered to leave the country in August. December 1963. Kenya and Zanzibar achieve independence. September 1963. Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta and Home Minister Oginga Odinga attend a conference in London to discuss independence for Kenya from the UK. June 1963. KANU leader Kenyatta becomes prime minister, after his party's victory in legislative elections held in May. August 1961. Kenyatta returns to his home town of Gatundu after eight years in exile. May 1960. A report on the origins and growth of the Mau Mau rebellion is published in Nairobi (the capital of Kenya) and London. January 1960. The UK lifts the seven-year state of emergency. January 1954. The supreme court rejects Kenyatta's appeal against his conviction for assisting the Mau Mau rebellion. April 1953. Kenyatta is found guilty of assisting the Mau Mau rebellion and is sentenced to seven years' hard labour for managing the Mau Mau and to three years' hard labour for being a member of Mau Mau (the sentences to run concurrently). November 1952. Atrocities are carried out by Mau Mau rebels. Measures are taken by the security forces and the government to combat and suppress the Mau Mau rebellion. October 1952. The UK declares a state of emergency after attacks on whites by indigenous tribespeople. Kenyatta is arrested on charges of leading attacks. July 1944. The UK announces development project spending for Kenya and Uganda. March 1939. The UK institutes an order under which the Kenyan highlands are reserved exclusively for European settlement. May 1936. The UK government fills top military and government posts in Kenya with officials from India. April 1936. The UK government says it will consider land claims by Kikuyu who were displaced by European settlers and turned into tenant farmers. December 1932. Several productive gold mines are discovered near the town of Eldoret.
Search the Archive
