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Kenya gained independence from Great Britain. Jomo Kenyetta became the Prime Minister.
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Selected events form Kenya's modern history.
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Jomo Kenyatta died in office and was succeeded by his Vice President, Daniel arap Moi.
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In a tribal conflict in the western part of the country, an estimated 2,000 people were killed.
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Political elections for president were held. Mwai Kibaki won a landslide victory over Daniel arap Moi who had been president for the past 24 years.
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A food crisis caused by crop failure and drought affected many rural Kenyans, who started to receive some aid from the UN. President Mwai Kibaki called it a natural disaster.
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Kenyan ecologist Wangri Maathai won the Noble Peace Prize for 2004.
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Corruption became the focus of politics when some of Kenya's many corruption issues were revealed.
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The government announced that 4 million people were in need of food due to a drought.
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The President of China, Hu Jintao, visited Kenya and signed a contract allowing China to prospect for oil off the coast of Kenya.
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Disagreement concerning the political elections led to violence and the deaths of more than 1,500 people.
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The Kenyan anti-corruption commission accused seven Members of Parliment of taking $250,000.
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The US Secratary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, criticized Kenya's government for not investigating the deadly violence that occurred after the 2007 elections.
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Kenya says that 10 million people, or one third of the population, was in need of food aid. The military was moblized to help the hardest hit areas.
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Mwai Kibaki signed a new constituion into law. It was designed to limit presidential powers, and gave more power to local areas.
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The Truth Commission began to investigate the killing of 3,000 ethnic Somalis at Wagalla Airstrip during a crackdown on ethnic Somalis during 1984. This was a lesser known, dark part of Kenya's history.
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East Africa was hit by the worst drought in 60 years, devastating Kenyan crops and livestock.
