APRM • SECOND COUNTRY REVIEW REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA 40. His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy, William Ruto, who emerged victorious in the 2013 election under the platform of Jubilee Alliance between The National Alliance (TNA) and the United Republican Party (URP), were the most politically visible Kenyans indicted by the ICC, setting the context for increased tension within Kenya and in Kenya-ICC relations while the trials lasted at the Hague. In December 2014, the ICC dropped charges of crime against humanity earlier made against President Uhuru Kenyatta, following prosecutors’ statement that evidence had “not improved to such an extent that Mr. Kenyatta’s alleged criminal responsibility can be proven beyond reasonable doubt”. 41. Again, in April 2016, the ICC ruled that Deputy President William Ruto, along with coaccused journalist Joshua Sang, had no case to answer following the declaration of a mistrial in the charges brought against them. 42. The period since the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, and especially since the 2013 election has been one of a cumulative process of institutional and process engineering to consolidate constitutional democracy in Kenya, devolve power to local communities and ensure better separation of powers and checks and balances within and between branches and layers of government, protect the rights of citizens to fully participate in governance, and ensure protection for key public and social institutions and a barrage of fundamental freedoms and guarantees to address discriminations against marginalized groups and regions. 2.3 Overview of Macroeconomic Performance 2.3.1 GDP Growth 43. The Kenyan economy is showing a bright future in terms of sustainable growth which is capable of eradicating poverty and increased employment, reduced fiscal deficits, low inflation and a diversified export base and increased earnings. The Kenyan economy has shown a robust growth in the past seven years. Kenya’s real GDP growth has averaged over 5% for the last seven years. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 5.6% in 2015 compared to 5.3% in 2014. This growth was mainly attributable to a stable macroeconomic environment as well as improvement in outputs of agriculture, construction, manufacturing, finance and insurance, information communications and technology (ICT), real estate, and wholesale and retail trade. Overall GDP prospects are 6.0% and 6.4% for the years 2016 and 2017 respectively. However, prior to 2011, the economic growth rate was much lower. For instance, it was 3.3% in 2009. Such a low performance was caused by global economic shocks such as global financial and economic crisis and the post-election shocks (e.g. postelection violence). Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation projections remain at around 6% over the same period (2016/17). 44. It is important to note that the rebasing of GDP in 2014 led to the reclassification of Kenya to lower-middle income status, with a GDP of USD 52.8 billion and per capita income of USD 1,195. The rebasing also saw Kenya become the ninth largest economy in Africa. | 66 |