Kenya exported maize to Europe to create ugali crisis

Maize meal is a staple food in many Kenyan households. [iStockphoto]

For decades, Kenya has been tittering on the brink of a revolution. Perennial drought and inadequate maize flour, for ugali, is a nightmare every administration has been grappling with since independence.

But the situation has not always been like this. Long before the Europeans came to Africa in the 1890s, pockets of Africans had started growing maize. In mainland Tanzania, the crop has been grown by the indigenous people from way back in the 12th Century.