Home

Kenya
General Resources, Politics, and Human Rights

• African Peer Review Mechanism Update on Kenya, see below: UN Economic Commission on Africa
  
  
• AMANI Forum--The Great Lakes Parliamentary Forum of Peace (Nairobi, Kenya)
  A regional organization of African parliamentarians which tries to monitor conflict resolution cases in the Eastern Africa and offer training, with national chapters in 7 countries. The site includes news and reports from workshops and meetings.
  
  
• Amnesty International on Kenya--Profile and Updates (Washington, DC and New York)
  
  
• Article 19 on Kenya (London, UK)
  • Guidebook on Election Coverage for Media Correspondents in Kenya (December 2007) PDF format
    
    
  • Kenya Media Council Bill -- Draft, March 2006 PDF format
  • Memorandum on Kenya's Freedom of Information Bill (2005) PDF format
  • See also: Article 19 Home Page.
    
  
  
• BBC News on Kenya (British Broadcasting Corporation, London, UK)
  • Country profile: Kenya (August 2009)
    
    
  • "Kenya set to get truth commission" (October 24, 2008)
  • "Kenya ex-graft czar urges amnesty" (August 20, 2008) -and- "Kenya: struggling for peace" (August 19, 2008)
  • "Kenya in Crisis" and latest news (January--May 2008) -- "Kenya opposition cancels protests" -- "Kenya official [Attorney-General] calls for vote inquiry" -- "Kibaki named victor in Kenya vote" -- "Odinga rejects Kenya poll result" (December 31, 2007) and other 2007 Kenya Election-related stories
    See also: Elections in Kenya in 2002 and 2007 below
    
    
  • John Githongo Report on Graft in Kenya (Submitted November 22, 2005) Copy of report, with cover letter, in PDF format
    See also, Related news stories and short video (February 2006) ;
    Interview with Githongo (January 2008) ;
    "Kenya sleaze book sparks shop ban" (February 2009) --Michaela Wrong's book about Githongo
  
  
• Centre for Governance and Development (Nairobi, Kenya)
  The site includes news updates, publications, and links to partner organizations. "[CGD]...works with representative and participatory institutions and organizations including parliament, parliamentary committees, government departments, local authorities, community based organizations, and other civil society organizations [in Kenya]."
  
  
• Centre for Rights, Education, and Awareness (Nairobi, Kenya) Since 1998
  The site includes reports on activities, events, photos, short videos, and publications. "[CREAW's]...mission is to transform society by empowering women and expanding new frontiers for women's rights and freedoms."
  
  
• CCR-Kenya: Coalition for Constitutional Reforms--Kenya, 2007 to present (Nairobi, Kenya ; USA)
  The news blog of this civil society NGO which campaigns on issues of democracy, development, and the environment in Kenya.
  
  
• Kenya Coast Bibliography (2000), compiled by Jan Hoorweg -- Leiden, The Netherlands: African Studies Centre, Leiden University, 2007.
  "The first version of this bibliography was published as a chapter in the Kenya Coast Handbook and covered the period up to 1996 (Hoorweg & Hekken 2000). The present digital version has been updated until the year 2000 and contains 1479 titles."
  
  
• Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative on Kenya (New Delhi, India; London, UK; Accra, Ghana)
  • CHRI reports and excerpts from Kenyan news media...since 1998. "The CHRI is a non-partisan independent international non-governmental organisation. Human rights education and advocacy are at the core of all CHRI's activities, and the aims and ends of its reports and investigations."
  • The Police, The People, The Politics: Police Accountability in Kenya (2006). A joint report by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and Kenya Human Rights Commission. By Michelle Kagari, Sophy Thomas ...[et al.] -- New Delhi, India; London, UK; Nairobi, Kenya: CHRI, 2006. 96 pages in PDF format.
  
  
• The Constitution of Kenya on the Internet
  • Proposed Constitution (August 2005) PDF format (via The Constitution of Kenya Review Commission, Nairobi)
  • Constitution of Kenya (Revised edition, 2000)
    (via The Law Society of Kenya, Nairobi)
  • "Draft Bill: The Constitution of the Republic of Kenya," September 2002 (PDF format)
    (via The Nation Media Group, Ltd., Nairobi, Kenya)
  
  
• Country Profile: Kenya (2007) (United States, Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Washington, DC) PDF format
  
  
• Danish Institute for International Studies, Department for Development Research. Formerly Centre for Development Studies. (Copenhagen, Denmark)
  • "Contestation over political space: the state and demobilisation of party politics in Kenya," by Karuti Kanyinga (CDR working paper; no. 98.12, Nov. 1998)
  • "Struggles of access to land the "squatter question" in coastal Kenya," by Karuti Kanyinga (CDR working paper; no. 98.7, June 1998)
  • IIS/CDR Working Papers List
  
  
• East African Bribery Index 2009 -- Nairobi, Kenya: Transparency International Kenya, 2009. 62 pages in PDF format
  
  
• Elections/Post-Election Crisis in Kenya 2007-2008 (and 2002)
  • Electoral Commission of Kenya Official web site
    
    
  • The Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation (2007-2008): The Independent Review Commission on the General Elections -and- The Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence --"Waki Commission"
    
    
  • Presidential Candidates and Political Parties in the 2007 Elections
    -- Raila Odinga
    -- Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka
    
    
    
  • ACE Project--The Electoral Knowledge Network: Kenya Profile and Reports (2007) (USA and Canada)
    
    
  • European Union Election Observation Mission to the Republic of Kenya 2007
    
    
  • See also: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre on Kenya, 2007-2008 below
    
    
  • See below: International Crisis Group on Kenya
    
    
  • Kenya Human Rights Commission (see below)
    
    
  • BBC News on Kenya--Current (see above)
    
    
  • Center for Strategic & International Studies: CSIS Africa Policy Forum---Kenya (Washington, DC)
    
    
  • Selected commentaries by scholars & writers on the post-election crisis:
    -- Council on Foreign Relations (Washington, DC)
    -- openDemocracy (London)
    -- Royal African Society (London)
    -- The Zeleza Post (Chicago): December 31, 2007 ; January 25, 2008 ; February 2 ;
    February 6 ; and Archive
    
    
  • 2002 Elections in Kenya -- Nation Media Group Ltd. (Nairobi, Kenya)
  • The Daily Nation. (Online): December 30, 2002 -- Inauguration of President Mwai Kibaki, Speeches, and Final Election Results
  
  
• Ensemble pour l'égalité (UN-INSTRAW, Saint-Domingue, Dominican Republic ; CAWTAR, Tunis, Tunisia)
  Le site comprend les actualités du programme et plusieurs publications--en français et en anglais. "[C'est] un projet UN-INSTRAW/CAWTAR sur 'le renforcement du leadership féminin de la participation des femmes à la vie politique et au processus de prise de décision en Algérie, au Maroc et en Tunisie.'"
  --Publications
  
  
• European Union External Relations -- News and Reports (via Europa--European Union On-Line, Brussels, Belgium)
  
  
• Fahamu : Networks for Social Justice (Oxford, UK ; Nairobi, Kenya ; Claremont, South Africa ; Dakar, Senegal)
  • "[Fahamu]...supports the strengthening of human rights and social justice movements by: promoting innovative use of information and communications technologies ; stimulating debate, discussion and analyses ; publishing news and information ; developing and delivering educational courses, including by distance learning."
  • AU monitor. (Online) -- Oxford, UK: Fahamu, 2006-
  • Pambazuka news. (Online) below.
  
  
• Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l'Homme sur l'Afrique = International Federation for Human Rights on Africa (Paris, France)
  Les actualités sur les droits de l'homme et les appels urgents des organisations membres -- en français, en anglais, en arabe, ou en espagnol. "Créée en 1922, la FIDH fédère aujourd’hui 141 ligues dans près de 110 pays."
  
  
• Femmes Africa Solidarité (Geneva, Switzerland ; New York, USA ; Dakar, Senegal)
  • FAS is a non governmental development organisation founded in 1996.
  • FAS Publications (2004--)
  • Human Rights Documentation
  
  
• FEMNET--African Women's Development and Communication Network (Nairobi, Kenya)
  The web site features information about FEMNET activities and publications, online reports and books, and general human rights news. "[Established in 1988]...FEMNET aims to strengthen the role and contribution of African NGOs focusing on women's development, equality and other human rights."
  
  
• Government of Kenya -- Portal Site (Nairobi)
  • Selected Ministries and Other Institutions -- Politics and The Law:
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs
  • Local Government
    
    
  • State Law Office -- Attorney-General
  • The Judiciary
  • The Parliament of Kenya
  • See also: Official Website of State House, Kenya -and- xkenya.com: a directory of Kenyan web sites below.
  
  
• Kenya Human Rights Commission (Nairobi)
  "Kenya Human Rights Commission is a non-governmental, independent organization established in 1992 in response to serious human rights abuses by the government of Kenya." This website describes programmes, provides order information (with abstracts) for KHRC publications; plus a few related NGO links. See especially:
  -- Latest reports and analyses
  -- KHRC on 2007 General Election (December): "Still Behaving Badly"
  --The 2006 HAKI Index: Measuring Public Perceptions on the State of Human Rights in Kenya and the Case of the Devolved Public Funds. PDF format
  
  
• Human Rights Watch on Kenya (New York & Washington, DC)
  • HRW on Kenya: Press releases, letters, reports, etc.
    
    
  • "From horror to hopelessness: Kenya's forgotten Somali refugee crisis" (March 30, 2009) 60 pages in PDF format
    
    
  • "A Question of Life or Death: Treatment Access for Children Living with HIV in Kenya" (December 2008) 100 pages in PDF format
  • "Letting them fail: government neglect and the right to education for children affected by AIDS" (October 2005) Human Rights Watch report. (Online) ; vol. 17, no. 13 (A)
  • "Double standards: Women's property rights violations in Kenya" (March 2004) Plus, supplementary material.
  • Kenya, 2002. In Human Rights Watch World Report 2003. (Online).
  • "Kenya's unfinished democracy: a human rights agenda for the new government." (December 2002) Human Rights Watch report. (Online) ; vol. 14, no. 10 (A)
  • Hidden in plain view: refugees living without protection in Nairobi and Kampala. -- New York : HRW, 2002. ("November 2002")
  • Playing with fire: weapons proliferation, political violence, and human rights in Kenya. -- New York : HRW, 2002. ("May 2002")
  • Kenya, 2001. In Human Rights Watch World Report 2002. (Online).
  • Kenya, 2000. In Human Rights Watch World Report 2001. (Online).
  • Kenya, 1999. In Human Rights Watch World Report 2000. (Online).
  • "Kenya: in the shadow of death -- HIV/AIDS and children's rights in Kenya." Human Rights Watch. (Online); vol. 13, no. 4(A) (June 2001)
  • "Kenya: Spare the Child: Corporal Punishment in Kenyan Schools." Human Rights Watch (Online) ; vol. 11, no. 6(A) (September 1999)
  • Kenya, 1998-99. In Human Rights Watch World Report 1999. (Online).
  • Kenya, 1997-98. In Human Rights Watch World Report 1998. (Online).
  
  
• Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre: Internally displaced persons in Kenya (2006--) Norwegian Refugee Council (IDMC, Geneva, Switzerland)
  For each country in the IDMC survey, the document collection includes an overall summary, recent news, population figures, social indicators, and some analyses.
  
  
• International Crisis Group on Kenya, 2005 to present: Summaries, reports, and CrisisWatch database (Washington, DC, USA; Brussels, Belgium)
  • Kenya in crisis (21 February 2008) 30 page report accessible with free registration
  
  
• Kenya Advisor -- The Independent Kenya Travel Guide (Arjen Koopman, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
  
  
• Kenya National Archives (Kenya National Archives and Documentation Service, Nairobi, Kenya)
  General information, lists of services, news about activities and publications, guides to the collections and -- under construction: searchable databases.
  
  
• The Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation (2007-2008) (Nairobi)
  The site features information about and reports from The Independent Review Commission on the General Elections -and- The Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence, chaired by Mr. Justice Philip Waki, a judge of Kenya’s Court of Appeal.
  -- Independent Review Commission Report on the General Elections held in Kenya on 27 December 2007 175 pages in PDF format
  -- Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence (CIPEV), October 15, 2008 529 pages in PDF format
  
  
• Kenya Web Page (University of Pennsylvania)
  
  
• Kenya Web Site (Rich C. Bowen, Lexington, Kentucky)
  A web site with links to general information on Kenya, including the 1992 Constitution, a Kenya newsgroup, and Internet Service Providers in Kenya.
  
  
• Kenyan Community Abroad (Washington, DC)
  News, policy discussions, conference papers, and general information about the organization which claims to be open to all Kenyans abroad. "[Founded in March 1997] KCA is a sociopolitical, non-partisan organization [registered in the states of Minnesota and Pennsylvania]."
  
  
• "Kibaki's triumph: the Kenyan general election of December 2002." (June 2003) By David W. Throup. Elections in Africa series, briefing paper ; no. 3. -- London, UK: Chatham House--The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Africa Programme, 2003. (PDF format)
  
  
• Lawafrica.Com (Lawtel Africa, Ltd., Nairobi, Kenya)
  A website which offers news and documents, directory information, a subscription-based, online legal library, and related links on law in Kenya and East Africa.
  
  
• Wangari Maathai -- 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
  • BBC News: "Kenyan collects Nobel peace prize (December 10, 2004)...and related stories. (British Broadcasting Corporation, London, UK)
  • Friends of the Green Belt Movement, North America -- Wangari Muta Maathai (New York)
  • The Green Belt Movement -- Hon. Prof. Wangari Maathai, MP (Nairobi, Kenya)
  • The Nobel Peace Prize 2004 -- Wangari Maathai (Stockholm, Sweden)
  • Official website of Prof. Wangari Maathai (Nairobi, Kenya)
  
  
• Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture = World Organization Against Torture on Kenya (Geneva, Switzerland)
  • Violence against women and children in Kenya: an alternative report to the Committee Against Torture (November 2008) 50 pages in PDF format
    
    
  • State violence in Kenya: an alternative report to the Human Rights Committee (June 2005)152 pages in PDF format
    
    
  • For other Kenya-related reports: search OMCT by country
  
  
• The rise of a party-state in Kenya: from 'harambee!' to 'nyayo!'. By Jennifer A. Widner. -- Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press ; California Digital Library eScholarship program, 2003 (1992).
  
  
• State House, Kenya -- Official Website (ikenya.ws, Science and Engineering Resource Center, Nairobi, Kenya)
  This is one of the main sources for official news and information from the Government of Mwai Kibaki; includes Budget speech and links to ministries and an extensive archive of news summaries.
  
  
• Transparency International -- Kenya Chapter (Nairobi)
  The Kenya national chapter has been fully active since 1999. The site includes Kenyan and TI news, the East African Bribery Index 2009, the Kenya Bribery Index, and other TIK publications.
  
  
• United Nations Agencies on Kenya
  • African Peer Review Mechanism Update on Kenya (2007) (United Nations Economic Commission on Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)
    A brief summary of the APRM review on democracy, governance, economic growth, and poverty reduction in Kenya.
    
    
  • United Nations. Department of Humanitarian Affairs: Reliefweb on Kenya
  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on Kenya (Geneva, Switzerland)
    See also: Research/Evaluation...Country and Legal Information Search.
  
  
• United States. Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook: Kenya (2009)
  
  
• United States Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya (U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC)
  
  
• United States. Department of State: Kenya Country Report on Human Rights Practices: 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008
  
  
• United States Information Agency (Washington, DC)
  • Remembering the Embassy Bombings of August 7, 1998 (in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
  
  
• "Women's organizing abilities: two case studies of Kenya and Malawi" by Mario I. Aguilar and Laurel Birch de Aguilar. (Organizing for Development--An International Institute, Washington, DC) [Focus on northern Kenya and central Malawi]
  
  
• World Social Forum 2007, January 20-25, 2007 -- Nairobi, Kenya: Programme
  See also: World Social Forum (São Paulo, Brazil)
  The site features all information on this event, the programme, and related links to current and past events. "The 7th edition of the World Social Forum brings the world to Africa as activists, social movements, networks, coalitions and other progressive forces from Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean, North America, Europe and all corners of the African continent converge in Nairobi, Kenya for five days of cultural resistance and celebration."
  
  
• xkenya.com (Kimacia Consultants, Nairobi, Kenya)
  A general Internet portal site, with links to information on Kenyan businesses, the Kenyan government, educational institutions, and other aspects of Kenyan society; plus links of more general interest to Africa.
  -- See especially: Government websites--The Ministries