President Uhuru Kenyatta is in for a tough second term because of the myriad of challenges that seem to have worsened, polarisation and slow economic growth.
Uhuru's final
five-year term started on November 28 when he and William Ruto were sworn-in. The ceremony cost Sh300 million so Kenyans complained as the country is haunted by recurring problems.
Here are five that Uhuru and Ruto's Jubilee Party administration must tackle for a strong legacy.
Strikes
Teachers, lectures, doctors, nurses and clinical officers were among public workers who went on strike this year, their demands being higher pay and better working conditions.
Collective bargaining agreements were eventually signed but the question of implementation remains.
But strikes have become workers' approach to pushing the government to meet their demands.
Kenya National Union of Teachers secretary general Wilson Sossion has threatened that learning will not resume on January 2 if the Teachers Service Commission
does not cancel the mass transfer of head teachers and their deputies.
Sossion has asked the 557 affected principals to
ignore the commission's directive until a proper agreement is reached.
Unemployment
According to the
United Nations Human Development Index off 2017, 39.1 per cent Kenyans are unemployed.
It was reported that the rate stood at
11 per cent
of the workforce and for the young, those aged 15-24, it was twice that. Kenya's years of strong economic growth was a key factor in the President's re-election campaign but the country
has the highest unemployment rate in East Africa.
Countries such as Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda have recorded lower rates.
A worker wears a dust mask as she works at the Hela intimates export processing zone (EPZ) limited factory in Athi River, near Nairobi, July 27, 2017. /REUTERS
Lack of jobs, especially for youths, has slowed down the economy to a point where
unemployed adults depend on the small working class group that is stretching family resources and consuming savings for future investments.
Around 800,000 jobs were created last year while the economy expanded by 5.8 per cent, well outperforming the global and regional averages.
But Kenya’s 44 million-strong population is growing by 2.5 per cent per year, and nine million more job seekers will have joined the market by 2025, the World Bank said in a report last year.
The government has been advised to
invest in self-employment
skills to end reliance on white and blue collar jobs.
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Food shortage
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, about
3.4 million people in the country face hunger, given food insecurity.
On December 6,
World Food Programme warned that 3.4 million Kenyans faced starvation and advertised urgent measures to guarantee food security.
This is mostly blamed on the lack of clear-cut policies and seriousness on the part of the government to ensure adequate supply.
Efforts such as the
Sh14 billion investment in the million-acre Galana/Kulalu irrigation scheme have not presented desired results.
The Opposition accused Uhuru's administration of failing to plan mitigation for poor harvests as inflation bit ahead of the August 8 general election.
The government could focus on working on high import levies, poor road infrastructure and trade restrictions to help address the shortage.
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A Turkana woman waits to get water from a borehole near Baragoy,
February 14, 2017. /REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic
Crime and terrorism
According to the US department of State's 'Kenya 2017 Crime & Safety Report, transportation security, terrorism, religious violence, political violence, natural disasters, elections, cyber crime top the list of crimes in Kenya.
Earlier in the year, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said criminal cases
reported to police in 2016 increased by 6.2 per cent to 76,986, from 720,490 in 2015.
An estimated 3,000 cybercrime incidences reported in Kenya
every month.
Terrorism is also a major concern as Somalia-based al Shabaab militia have carried out many attacks.
In 2016, terrorist attacks involving shootings, grenades or other explosive devices resulted in 122 fatalities. The bulk of these incidents occurred in the counties of Wajir, Garissa, Lamu and Mandera.
Kenya has experienced 100 terror-related attacks in three years with about 370 people being killed and over 1,075 injured since October 2011. This was the year when Kenya sent Kenya Defence Forces troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia.
The President has maintained that the soldiers will only leave Mohamed Farmajo's country once peace and stability are restored. But some politicians have argued for the withdrawal of troops for reasons including keeping the public safe.
The Kipini Raha bus that was attacked by suspected al Shabaab militants at Nyongoro area in Lamu, August 2, 2017. /CHETI PRAXIDES
Unity
After he was sworn-in, Uhuru pledged to lead the country in healing and reconciliation amid division after the Supreme Court upheld his victory.
The division was so much that after a directive by NASA leader Raila Odinga, his supporters in Siaya, Kisumu, Migori and Homa Bay boycotted the repeat presidential election on October 26.
The latest show of how much Uhuru must do was Water CS Eugene Wamalwa's chaotic departure from the Maragoli Cultural Festival in Mbale. Opposition supporters said they did not want a Jubilee Party leader at the function.
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The President has urged leaders to desist from precipitating violence and focus on peace and security. He
said he will unite all Kenyans irrespective of their political affiliations.
NASA supporters demonstrate against IEBC in Kisumu, October 25, 2017. /FAITH MATETE
Every Thursday, hash tag
#TribelessyouthKE
trends on Twitter and other
social media platforms.
It is an initiative launched by young Kenyans
who are tired of tribal politics.
They hope to change the long history of ethnic groupings in election years.
Kenya's politics has been characterised by ethnic tensions since independence in 1963.
But it was not until 2007
that the demons of tribalism flared up in a presidential election dispute between Raila and Mwai Kibaki.
Kofi Annan oversaw the formation of a grand coalition government after chaos that left at least 1,300 people dead and more than 600,000 internally dispalced.
Uhuru said he does not mediation by Annan or any other foreigners.
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