The Contentious Political Economy of Biofuels

The stairway and halls leading to a closed-door room of the Nairobi High Court buzzed with activity on February 14, 2011. Roughly one hundred people had traveled overnight by bus from the Tana River-the east coast outflow of Kenya's largest river-to convene at the judicial heart of the nation's capital. They had gathered to attend a court hearing, risking time away during the dry season from herds of Boran cattle, farms growing maize and peas, and shops and domestic responsibilities.