2023 in Kenya explained

Events in the year 2023 in Kenya.

Incumbents

• President

William Ruto

• Deputy President

Rigathi Gachagua

• Chief Justice

Martha Koome

Events

• 30 March – A collision between a Pwani University bus and a minibus in Naivasha, kills 14 people.^[1]
• 8 April – At least ten people are killed in Migori, when a truck loses control and crashes into pedestrians.^[2]
• 15 April – SpaceX launches Earth observation satellite TAIFA-1, Kenya's first operational satellite, from Vandenberg Space Force Base on a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket. The satellite will collect environmental data, including on floods, droughts and wildfires.^[3]
• 19 June – Kenya signs a trade deal with the European Union (EU).^[4]
• 21 June – MPs voted to increase VAT on petroleum products from 8 to 16%. 184 MPs approved the clause within the new finance bill while 88 opposed it.^[5]
• 26 June – President Ruto signs into law the finance bill.^[6] On the same day, Chief Justice Martha Koome launched a Digital Sex Offenders Registry, which will hold the records of all convicted sex offenders. According to Koome, the automation of the database will ensure easy access to information on convicted sex offenders, facilitating expedited justice.^[7]
• 30 June – Londiani multi-vehicle crash. More than 50 people were killed after a truck veered off the road and plowed into a market in Londiani, Kericho County.^[8]
• 7 July – Anti-government protests across the country. Opposition leader Raila Odinga led protests to oppose tax increases. Several people were injured, and one man was shot dead.^[9]
• 12 July – Anti-government protests continue. At least six were killed and dozens injured, including children.^[10]
• 5 October – Government reshuffle in which Musalia Mudavadi replaces Alfred Mutua as Foreign Minister following controversy over the country's involvement in the crisis in Haiti.^[11]
• 9 October – A court in Kenya blocks the government from deploying police personnel to Haiti.^[12]
• 6 November – 15 people in Kenya are killed during floods caused by significant rainfall. Approximately 241 acres of farmland have been destroyed and 1,067 livestock killed.^[13]
• 16 November – The Parliament of Kenya approves the deployment of its police officers to Haiti as part of a United Nations-backed multinational security mission to combat the gang war in Haiti.^[14]
• 17 November – The Chief Justice of Kenya, Martha Koome, declared November to be a National Children's Service Month in all court stations to fast track cases involving children, and launched the first such event at the Tononoka Law Courts.^[15]
• 27 November – The death toll from floods in Kenya rises to 76 as 40,000 people are displaced from their homes.^[16]
• 29 November – Kevin McCool, an off-duty British soldier is reported killed while on a motorcycle trip off base.^[17]
• 10 December – A nationwide power outage occurs in Kenya as a result of possible sabotage of the country's electrical grid, according to Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen.^[18]
• 12 December – Kenyan President William Ruto announces that all tourists will no longer require a travel visa to enter the country from January 2024, with the visa being replaced by electronic travel authorisation.^[19]
• 22 December – Kenya’s anti-corruption commission charges the country’s former tourism minister and two others with economic crimes for the alleged fraud of tens of millions of dollars in inflated costs for the construction of a hospitality college.^[20]

Sports

• 2022–23 Kenyan Premier League

Deaths

• 6 January - Edwin Chiloba, Fashion designer, Model, And LGBTQ Activist, (born 1998).
• 24 January – George Magoha, surgeon, (born 1952).^[21]
• 28 March – Kulow Maalim Hassan, politician, road death.^[22]
• 10 May – Loonkito, lion, (born 2004).^[23]

Notes and References

1. Web site: University bus accident in Kenya kills 14 . 2023-04-07 . www.aa.com.tr.
2. Web site: Ouma . Charles . 2023-04-08 . 10 killed, scores rushed to hospital in grisly Saturday morning accident . 2023-04-10 . Pulselive Kenya . en.
3. News: 2023-04-15 . Kenya launches first operational satellite into space . en . Reuters . 2023-04-15.
4. News: Kenya signs EU trade deal in boost to Brussels' Africa ties . AL JAZEERA.
5. News: 184 MPs vote to double VAT on petroleum to 16% . People Daily.
6. News: Ruto assents controversial Finance Bill 2023 into Law . People Daily.
7. News: Kenya gets first digital offender registry . Nation Africa.
8. Web site: Capital News . Over 50 Dead After Truck Ploughs into A Market in Londiani, Kericho . 30 June 2023 . en.
9. News: One man shot dead in Kenya amid protests over tax hikes . Al JAZEERA .
10. News: Deadly anti-government protests roil Kenya . Al JAZEERA .
11. News: 2023-10-05 . Kenya's Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua demoted in Ruto cabinet reshuffle . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-10-05.
12. News: Reuters . 2023-10-09 . Court blocks Kenya from deploying police officers to Haiti to fight gangs . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-10-09 . 0261-3077.
13. Web site: 2023-11-06 . 40 people dead in Kenya and Somalia as heavy rains and flash floods displace thousands . 2023-11-07 . AP News . en.
14. News: 2023-11-16 . Kenya's parliament approves Haiti police deployment . The Times of India . 2023-11-16 . 0971-8257.
15. Web site: Children Service Month Launched At The Tononoka Law Courts . Chari . Suche . 17 November 2023 . Kenya News Agency . 31 March 2024.
16. Web site: 2023-11-27 . Kenya raises alarm as flooding death toll rises to 76, with thousands marooned by worsening rains . 2023-11-28 . AP News . en.
17. News: 2023-12-02 . British soldier killed off duty in Kenya . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-12-02.
18. News: 2023-12-11 . Kenya's nationwide power blackout sparks KPLC sabotage suspicions . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-12-11.
19. News: 2023-12-12 . Kenya to scrap visas for all visitors, president says . en . Reuters . 2023-12-13.
20. Web site: 2023-12-22 . Former Kenyan minister and 2 others charged with fraud over hospitality college project . 2023-12-23 . AP News . en.
21. Web site: Prof George Magoha Dies Aged 71 . capitalfm.co.ke . 24 January 2023. 25 January 2023 .
22. Web site: GROUP . NTV KENYA-NATION MEDIA . NTV Kenya: Banisa MP Kullow Maalim Hassan dies after hit-and-run accident in Nairobi . 2024-02-12 . NTV Kenya . en-GB.
23. News: 2023-05-12 . Wild lion Loonkiito, 'one of the world's oldest', killed in Kenya . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-05-12.