Evolution of Kenyan Citizenship Regime: Pre- and Post-2010 Eras

Abstract Debates on citizenship are never conclusive as this is an evolving idea and practice. Formal citizenship in Kenya has its genesis prior to independence when the country was drafting its 1963 Independence Constitution. Before then, most Kenyans were considered subjects by the colonial administration, governed by a racialised hierarchical colonial order. This phenomenon changed in postcolonial Kenya as the nation’s primary focus was on eliminating these racial hierarchies to include those previously excluded as citizens. However, some of the statutory provisions on citizenship were contentious as they promoted discrimination and inequalities. The endorsement of Kenya’s new constitution in 2010 is termed transformative as it addresses the controversial provisions on citizenship. Through secondary source research, this paper aims to trace the development of formal citizenship in Kenya from colonial times to date and maps out the milestones made over time and space in citizenship on its acquisition, duality and statelessness.