Kenya. World Factbook map, 2006

The Republic of Kenya lies astride the equator in eastern Africa and is bounded by Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south, the Indian Ocean and Somalia to the east, and Ethiopia and Sudan to the north. The name is derived from the Gikuyu word for Mt. Kenya (Kere-Nyaga). Much of the north and eastern part of the country is semiarid. Kenya's population was 16 million in 1987, and 33.8 million in 2005. Most of the country's 16 million people (in 1987) lived on the southwestern highlands (3,700-10,000 ft. [1,100-3,000 m.] altitude) with ideal temperatures and rainfall. The Great Rift Valley pierces Kenya from north to south, west of Nairobi.

In the mid-19th century the British entered East Africa to protect their shipping routes to India. A railroad was built from Mombasa to Lake Victoria to create a link with Uganda, over which they had claimed a protectorate. Nairobi, begun as a railroad supply station, soon became the capital of Kenya. The British government then encouraged settlers to farm the highlands in the area north and west of Nairobi. The Gikuyu were forced onto reservations.

The Gikuyu resented this taking of their land, so they organized politically to better their situation. After World War II, a secret society known as the Mau Mau was formed. Its members pledged to reduce the influence and presence of the Europeans. Violence in the early 1950s led to the declaration of a state of emergency. The Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta was arrested and sent into detention to the barren northwest. In 1963 the British granted Kenya its independence with Kenyatta as president. He made the Swahili word Harambee (pull together) a national slogan. He was succeeded in 1978 by Daniel arap Moi. Daniel arap Moi was succeeded in 2002 by Mwai Kibaki.

When the Mennonite Church entered Kenya, Nairobi became the center for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities programs. The Mennonite Guesthouse established in the 1960s provided a valuable service to missionaries of all denominations who come to Nairobi for business and rest. Rosslyn Academy was founded in 1967 to serve the elementary education needs of missionary children in Tanzania and Somalia. The Baptist mission joined with the Mennonites in the operation of the school in 1976. Beginning in 1988 a high school was added to further its ministry. MCC involvement began with a Teacher's Abroad Program and has moved toward development work in the drier areas of the country, particularly among several nomadic tribes.

See also Kenya Mennonite Church; Kanisa la Mennonite Tanzania (North Mara Diocese).

Bibliography

©1996-2008 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.

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