Majority of Kenyans feel country headed the wrong way Pollster

60% of Kenyans feel that the country is headed in “the wrong direction” with only 26% saying that the country is on the right track.

According to the poll conducted between June 4^th-18th, 2016, incorporating 2,076 respondents, 41% of the Jubilee supporters, whose views were sought, said the country was heading in the right direction, while 43% viewing the country’s direction as negative.

82% of CORD supporters feel the country is heading in the wrong direction but a mere 9% feel otherwise.

“In regional terms, only in Central and Rift Valley do a mere plurality rather than a majority perceive the country’s direction as “wrong”, with the highest negatives in Coast and Nyanza (74% and 84%, respectively),” said IPSOS.

Among the one-in-four who see the country’s direction as positive, about half cite economic reasons such as the cost of living, employment, and infrastructure projects as their main reasons for doing so, while somewhat fewer of those who view Kenya’s current direction cite these same economic areas. Among the latter, however, “poor leadership” and “corruption” also receive considerable mentions (21% and 16%, respectively).

The high cost of living remains the greatest concern of most Kenyans. The proportion who identify it as “the most serious problem the country is facing today” has dropped somewhat from our 36% in November, 2015 to 28% in July. The same applies to corruption: from 25% to 20%.

On the other hand, the proportion of those identifying unemployment has increased slightly from 12% to 15%, while those mentioning insecurity has decreased even more; from 12% to just 3%, evidently reflecting the recent absence of any major attack.

“In terms of the country’s main political divide, the only significant contrast is with regard the cost of living/inflation, with somewhat more CORD supporters mentioning it than do those of Jubilee (32% vs. 25%), while contrasts on nearly all other issues are minimal,” noted IPSOS.