was notable for its extremely low voter turnout , the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission ( IEBC ) oversaw a rather efficient election . Despite the tension that characterized the tallying of the presidential vote and the subsequent challenging of the IEBC ’ s declaration at the Supreme Court of Kenya , the country held together . Kenya ’ s electorate and its institutions appear to have come of age . The Constitution of Kenya 2010 has been beaten , at times even assaulted , but remains unbowed . The citizens of this country must continue to jealously guard their hard-won freedoms .
# 7 : Regional Peace and Stability
The crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC ) rumbles on . Troops from member states of the East African Community ( EAC ), including Kenya , have been deployed to help the Congolese government battle the M23 rebels who now control large swathes of the country , displacing thousands of Congolese . Kenya ’ s former President Uhuru Kenyatta , who is the East African Community facilitator of the DRC peace process , recently announced that Rwandan President Paul Kagame had agreed to entreat the M23 rebels to enter a ceasefire with the Congolese forces and withdraw from the captured territories .
A peace deal between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People ’ s Liberation Front ( TPLF ) was signed recently in South Africa , hopefully bringing an end to the brutal two-year conflict . The humanitarian crisis that the war has spawned is devastating with around 5.2 million in need of humanitarian assistance in Tigray , including 3.8 million who need healthcare . Thousands have lost their lives , with allegations of gross human rights violations , including possible war crimes , committed by both sides . Reconstruction and the path to reconciliation will be difficult but hopefully will be achieved . In the interim , the delivery of humanitarian aid to all those in need and the restoration of public services will be critical .
South Sudan still faces a serious humanitarian crisis . Two-thirds of its population need humanitarian assistance , with women and children the most affected . On the 4th of August , parties to the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement for South Sudan signed on to a further two-year extension of the transitional governance arrangements , postponing elections until late 2024 . None of the three proposed transitional justice bodies have come into being - the Commission on Truth , Reconciliation , and Healing , the Hybrid Court , or the Compensation and Reparation Authority . Currently , there are no structures in place to establish the electoral system .
Additionally , the political space in South Sudan appears to be shrinking with those critical of the government subjected to death threats , detention , torture , and abductions . This does not portend well for the coming elections if they are held at all . Kenya will continue to play a pivotal role in solving these regional crises .
On the business front , Safaricom now has one million subscribers in Ethiopia just a month after the launch of operations in the country . Safaricom recently announced that it had acquired 740,000 subscribers by the end of October , generating just under 100 million in revenue from the market in the first month of operations . This signals the growing importance of regional integration and its place in Kenya ’ s economic , social , and cultural development .
While 2022 has been another extremely challenging year for the country , its citizens have continued to demonstrate grit and resilience in the face of innumerable difficulties . They should be applauded .
Walter Nyabundi is a Social Researcher . You can commune with him on this or related matters via email at : Nyabundiw @ gmail . com .