 Kenya rises from a low coastal plain on the Indian Ocean in
a series of mountain ridges and plateaus which stand above 3,000 meters
(9,000 ft.) in the center of the country. The Rift Valley bisects the
country above Nairobi, opening up to a broad arid plain in the north.
Mountain plains cover the south before descending to the shores of
Lake
Victoria in the west. The climate varies from the tropical south, west, and central regions
to arid and semi-arid in the north and the northeast.
 Nairobi
is the capital of Kenya, and lies in the Nairobi District, situated at
an elevation of about 1660 m (about 5450 ft) in the highlands of the
southern part of the country. Nairobi is Kenya's principal economic,
administrative, and cultural center and is one of the largest and
fastest growing cities in Africa. Manufactures include processed food,
textiles, clothing, building materials, and communications and
transportation equipment. The city also has a large tourist industry.
The University of Nairobi (1956), Kenya Polytechnic (1961), and Kenya
Conservatoire of Music (1944) are here. Other important cities are :
Mombasa (665,000),
Kisumu (504,000),
Nakuru (1.2 million).
 Revered president and liberation struggle
icon Jomo KENYATTA led Kenya from independence until his death in 1978,
when current President Daniel Toroitich arap MOI took power in a
constitutional succession. The country was a de facto one-party state
from 1969 until 1982 when the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU)
made itself the sole legal party in Kenya. MOI acceded to internal and
external pressure for political liberalization in late 1991. The
ethnically fractured opposition failed to dislodge KANU from power in
elections in 1992 and 1997, which were marred by violence and fraud, but
are viewed as having generally reflected the will of the Kenyan people.
The country faces a period of political uncertainty because MOI is
constitutionally required to step down at the next elections that have
to be held by early 2003.
Kenya has a very diverse population that includes most major language
groups of Africa. Traditional pastoralists, rural farmers, Muslims, and
urban residents of Nairobi and other cities contribute to the
cosmopolitan culture. The standard of living in major cities, once
relatively high compared to much of Sub-Saharan Africa, has been
declining in recent years. Most city workers retain links with their
rural, extended families and leave the city periodically to help work on
the family farm. About 75% of the work force is engaged in agriculture,
mainly as subsistence farmers. The national motto of Kenya is
harambee, meaning "pull together." In that spirit, volunteers in
hundreds of communities build schools, clinics, and other facilities
each year and collect funds to send students abroad.
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