Kenya Government - 1986

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Official name: Republic of Kenya

Type: republic within Commonwealth

Capttal: Nairobi

Political subdivisions: 7 provinces plus Nairobi area

Legal system: based on English common law, tribal law, and Islamic law; constitution enacted 1963; judicial review in Supreme Court; legal education at Kenya School of Law in Nairobi; accepts compulsory 1CJ jurisdiction, with reservations; constitutional amendment in 1982 made Kenya a de jure one-party state

National holiday: Jamhuri Day, 12 December

Branches: President and Cabinet responsible to unicameral legislature (National Assembly) of 170 seats, 158 directly elected by constituencies and 12 appointed by the President; High Court, with Chief Justice and at least 11 justices, has unlimited original jurisdiction to hear and determine any civil or criminal proceeding; provision for system of courts of appeal

Government leader: Daniel T. arap MOI, President (since 1978)

Suffrage: universal over age 21

Elections· Assembly at least every five years; present National Assembly and President elected September 1983

Political party and leader: Kenya African National Union (KANU), Kenya’s sole legal political party, Daniel arap Moi president

Voting strength: KANU holds all seats in the National Assembly

(formerly Gilbert Islands)

Communists: may be a few Communists and sympathizers

Other political or pressure groups: labor unions

Member of: AfDB, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, 1FC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITU, 1WC—International Wheat Council, NAM, OAU, UN, UNDP, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

NOTE: The information regarding Kenya on this page is re-published from the 1986 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Kenya 1986 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Kenya 1986 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.