Kenya Timeline

  • Mau mau

    Kenyan African Union formed to campaign for African independence. First African appointment to legislative council.
  • Mau mau

    Jomo Kenyatta becomes Kenyan African Union leader
  • Period: to

    Mau mau

    Secret Kikuyu guerrilla group known as Mau Mau begins violent campaign against white settlers.
  • Mau mau

    Mau mau rebellion gets put down
  • Independence

    Kenya gains independence, with Mr Kenyatta as prime minister.
  • Independence

    Republic of Kenya formed and Jomo Kenyatta becomes president
  • Moi Era

    Kenyatta dies in office, succeeded by Vice-President Daniel arap Moi.
  • Moi Era

    Kenya declared a one-party by National Assembly
  • Moi Era

    Around 2,000 people killed in tribal conflict
  • Multi-party Elections

    President Moi re-elected in multi-party elections
  • Embassy bomb

    Al-Qaeda operatives bomb the U.S. embassy in Nairobi killing 224 people and injuring thousands.
  • Embassy bomb

    A simultaneous rocket attack on an Israeli airliner fails.
  • Kibaki Victory

    Elections. Mwai Kibaki wins a landslide victory, ending Daniel arap Moi's 24-year rule and Kanu's four decades in power.
  • Kibaki Victory

    Kenyan ecologist Wangari Maathai wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
  • Kibaki Victory

    new constitution in what is seen as a protest against President Kibaki.
  • Kibaki Victory

    Disputed presidential elections lead to violence in which more than 1,500 die.
  • Constitution Approved

    Kenya joins its neighbours in forming a new East African Common Market
  • Troops In Somali

    Kenyan troops enter Somalia to attack rebels they accuse of being behind several kidnappings of foreigners on Kenyan soil. Kenya suffers several reprisal attacks.
  • Troops In Somali

    Oil discovered. President Kibaki hails it as a ''major breakthrough''
  • Troops In Somali

    More than 100 people are killed in communal clashes over land and resources Coast Province.
  • Kenyatta Wins Election

    the son of Kenya's first president, wins presidential election with just over 50% of the vote.
  • Al-Shabab steps up attacks

    Al-Shabab carry out a massacre at Garissa University College in northwest Kenya, killing 148 people.
  • Al-Shabab steps up attacks

    Government declares a drought affecting a large part of the country to be a national disaster.
  • Al-Shabab steps up attacks

    Al-Shabab Somali jihadists attack Camp Simba army base near Lamu, killing three Americans.