[1][2] Both the UK and Kenya are members of the Commonwealth of Nations and engage with each other regularly on matters of military, economic and cultural importance.

Kenya retains many aspects of British culture and governance, such as continuing to use English within administration, education and the law, driving on the left, hosting a diaspora community of Britons, and having a large Protestant population.

[3][4][5][6][7] The British military continues to play an important role in the country with Kenya hosting the UK's largest base in Africa, which provides vital anti-terrorism training to the Kenyan police.

Elizabeth II was in Kenya when she received news that her father King George VI had died, and had made multiple state visits throughout her reign.

[9][10] To mark the 2022 Platinum Jubilee, Prince Edward visited the country to reinforce ties and celebrate Kenya's historic and current relationship with the UK.

[16] In the 1980s, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Kenya, and was received in an elaborate state banquet by Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi.

Prime Minister Thatcher said "Mr. President, we admire what we see: your country's peace and stability; policies which recognise the worth of individual effort and personal endeavour subodied in the concept of “harambee” —self-help; an economy in which private ownership and private industry have been encouraged; above all, a country which has enjoyed strong and decisive leadership within a constitutional framework."

[17] At the same conference Prime Minister Thatcher and President Moi discussed ways of combatting the apartheid policies of South Africa.

In 2013 after Kenya's new President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn into office, Prime Minister David Cameron was one of the first foreign leaders to congratulate him on his election victory.

Prime Minister May said she wanted “a partnership for opportunity [and] for our shared security.” When asked if Brexit would disrupt working with the United Kingdom, President Uhuru Kenyatta rejected this and said “I don't see Brexit as meaning anything detrimental towards the strong trade ties we already have.”[30] President Uhuru Kenyatta was invited to visit the United Kingdom again by Theresa May's successor Boris Johnson.

In early 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the United Kingdom and was received at 10 Downing Street by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

[31] In 2021 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta signed a five year defense cooperation agreement between the United Kingdom and Kenya, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Defence Monica Juma signed the accord which built on existing agreements and which provides a basis for the exchange of military personnel for defense activity, allowing for enhanced training opportunities and increasing collaboration in peace support work.

The signing of the DCA came six months after the two defense secretaries met in Nairobi, agreeing a refreshed security compact to deepen cooperation in tackling Al-Shabaab and other shared threats such as cybercrime and human trafficking.

[32] On 28 July 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed President Uhuru Kenyatte to Chequers where it was announced that the United Kingdom would send 817,000 COVID-19 vaccines to Kenya.

Speaking before their bilateral talks, President Uhuru Kenyatta said “This visit has presented a unique opportunity to reaffirm our commitments to the long-standing bilateral relations between Kenya and the UK, that are founded on shared values and similar aspirations of enhanced cooperation for sustained socio-economic prosperity for our two peoples.” Manoah Esipisu, the Kenyan High Commissioner to the UK, said "Discussions today are an important step in reviewing progress after the President's last visit 18 months ago and how we can move together in combating challenges exacerbated by Covid-19.

Now, exacerbated by Covid-19 and its knock-on effects on learning, we are in a make-or-break situation, where progress previously made is at risk of becoming undone...We know that girls have been disproportionately affected.

It has compounded the barriers to an education they already faced: child marriage, gender-based violence, female genital mutilation and teenage pregnancies.

We risk a lost generation of girls.” Prime Minister Johnson agreed and added that “Educating the world's children, and girls in particular, is the single greatest investment we can make for the prosperity of our societies.

From 16 October 2014 until 30 December 2020, trade between Kenya and the UK was governed by the East African Community–European Union Economic Partnership Agreement, while the United Kingdom was a member.