From Cold War to M-Pesa, events that shaped our history

Mwalimu Julius Nyerere (left), Mzee Jomo Kenyatta (middle) and Tom Mboya, arguably some of East Africa's most influential people, meet at a function in 1965. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • A combination of declining income from exports and a change in economic strategy forced Kenya to turn to the World Bank in 1980 to be able to pay its debts. One of the first African countries to do so, Kenya was set on a path towards a smaller state, and a stronger market economy, courtesy of internationally designed Structural Adjustment Programmes. While this may have allowed private enterprise to thrive, the state itself became weaker as a result.
  • The assassination of Foreign minister Robert Ouko on February 13, 1990, was every bit as important in its ramifications. Most notably, it led international donors to take a much more critical attitude towards the Kanu government, which eventually translated into greater pressure for the end of the one-party state.

In July 1962, Tom Mboya set out his vision of the new nation in a speech as powerful and heartfelt as any other in Kenya’s history.


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