The court said his crimes had involved overseeing public floggings, torture and arbitrary arrests during a jihadist takeover in northern Mali in 2012.

Kenya, the fastest growing economy in Africa, is on the brink of a fiscal calamity. Across Africa, nations are spending more on interest than on health or education.

Businesses were slowly reopening a day after the government deployed the military to quell the unrest, but the country remained on edge.