Fossils found in East Africa suggest that protohumans roamed the area more than 20 million years ago. Recent finds near Kenya's Lake Turkana suggest that hominids lived in the area 2.6 million years ago.A small but remarkable leftist opposition party, the Kenya People's Union (KPU), was formed in 1966, led by Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, a former vice president and Luo elder. The KPU was banned and its leader detained after political unrest related to Kenyatta's visit to Nyanza Province. No new opposition parties were formed after 1969, and KANU became the sole political party. At Kenyatta's death in August 1978, Vice President Daniel arap Moi became interim President. On October 14, Moi became President formally after he was elected head of KANU and designated its sole nominee.

Moi was reelected for another 5-year term. Opposition parties won about 45% of the parliamentary seats, but Moi's KANU Party retained a majority of the legislature. Parliamentary reforms in November 1997 expanded political rights in Kenya, and the number of political parties grew rapidly. Moi won re-election as President in the December 1997 elections, and his KANU Party narrowly retained its parliamentary majority, with 109 out of 122 seats.In December 2002, the people of Kenya elected Mwai Kibaki as the nation’s third president. President Kibaki received 62 % of the vote, and his 15-party group, the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), also won 59 % of the parliamentary seats.