2023 in Pictures

2023 was full of events and activities that made it the year it was.

The Standard has compiled some of the major events, and happenings that marked the year both in Kenya and across the globe. Let's go down memory lane;

Anti-Government Protests

Azimio supporters lit up fires near Kisumu bus park in as they protest the high cost of living. They also engaged police in running battles. [Washington Onyango,Standard].

In Senegal, supporters of Senegalese Opposition leader Ousmane Sonko also protested in the capital, Dakar to support the then aspiring presidential candidate, who faces a libel case.

Shakahola Massacre

Wreckage of a matatu that was involved in a tragic accident at Londiani junction on July 1, 2023.At least 53 people lost their lives.[Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

On June 30, a lorry carrying cement collided with multiple vehicles at the Londiani road junction, resulting in the tragic deaths of 53 people, including roadside traders and their customers.

President Ruto reshuffles Cabinet

Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza and her husband Murega Baichu at Parliament Buildings after she survived impeachment, November 8, 2023.

On November 8, Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza survived an impeachment motion for the second time in less than a year after Senate voted in her favour.

Mwangaza had survived another impeachment tabled in December 2022.

Britain's King and Queen visit to Kenya

Lands CS Alice Wahome in a tree planting exercise in Githiuru forest, Nyeri County. [Boniface Gikandi,Standard]

November 13 was declared a national holiday for tree-planting exercises.

The announcement came as a surprise to many, the first ever such exercise. The government distributed seedlings with the help of community administrators while CSs and PSs took flights to different parts of the country to lead the exercise.

Faith Kipyegon and Kelvin Kiptum shine

Nairobi at night on August 25, 2023. Blackout was reported countrywide due to power outage. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

A nationwide power blackout hit the country several times this year, paralyzing operations including at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

In this image taken from video provided by ORTN, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani makes a statement, July 28, 2023, in Niamey, Niger..[Pjhoto,VOA]

In Niger, soldiers toppled the country's democratically elected president in July.

A month later, Gabon's president Ali Bongo Ondimba, an heir to a dynasty that ruled for 55 years, was deposed after a presidential election that the army and opposition declared fraudulent.

Sudan, which has been in war since the overthrow of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir, collapsed into a civil war in April that pitted the country's military against a powerful paramilitary force. The fighting saw crossfire set airplanes ablaze at Khartoum's international airport while countries rushed to evacuate their nationals by land, sea, and air.

Turkey Earthquake

Tesla CEO Elon Musk visits the construction site of Tesla's Gigafactory in Gruenheide near Berlin, Germany, August 13, 2021.[Photo,VOA]

In July 2023, Elon Musk officially rebranded Twitter to X after changing its iconic bird logo. The social media application now appears as X in the Apple and Google app stores.

Israel-Palestine war

Pope Francis delivers his message as he meets with Vatican employees for the season greetings at the Vatican, Dec. 21, 2023.[Photo,VOA]

On December 18, Pope Francis formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God's love and mercy shouldn't be subject to "an exhaustive moral analysis" to receive it.

The document from the Vatican's doctrine office elicited mixed reactions among catholic priests and the general public.