Clinton: US won't interfere in Kenya affairs

US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton (extreme right), Foreign minister Moses Wetangula (centre) and US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger (left) during her visit to the 1998 bomb blast Memorial Park Nairobi on Thursday. With them is fourteen years old Michael Macharia whose parents died in the blast when he was four. She said the US will not interfere with Kenyan affairs during a public talk at the University of Nairobi. Photo/STEPHEN MUDIARI

What you need to know:

  • Mrs Clinton urges civil society to push for change.
  • She challenged religious groups in Kenya to spearhead the healing and reconciliation efforts.

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has insisted that America will not interfere with the running of Kenya’s coalition government.

Speaking at a public talk in the University of Nairobi on Thursday, Mrs Clinton said that apart from piling pressure on the coalition government, there was very little her country could do to influence the political situation.

“The US cannot solve Kenya’s problems… we cannot dictate to you how to run this government; it is not up to us,” she said.

“The answers to Kenya’s challenges lie with Kenyans.”

While responding to questions from the audience, Mrs Clinton avoided direct reprimand to the coalition government, instead, pledging to help the civil society to change the regime.

Mrs Clinton urged the civil society to “keep pushing for reforms.”

“I work for a President who believes in hope,” she said.

One participant, Joshua Nyamori, had asked the US Secretary of State about her impression of the political will in regard to the implementation of the reform agenda.

“There are people within the leadership who understand the necessity of these reforms, whether they’ll be successful or not is still up in the air,” she replied.

Mr Martin Oloo of the Law Society of Kenya sought a clarification on America’s position regarding free and fair polls and the emerging trend where disputed elections transform into power-sharing deals.

The US Secretary replied that once the elections are done, her government is “left with a very tough choice.”

While on one hand imposing sanctions would punish the voters, working with an illegitimate government casts doubts about the consistency of America’s foreign policies.

“Holding elections that are free and fair is something every government owes to its citizens,” she said.

Terming Kenya as a “very political country” where “everybody has a political opinion”, Mrs Clinton asked those in the civil society to join politics and try to change the system from within.

“Start now,” she said.

The pledge to support Kenya’s relatively vibrant civil society led to a call to all Kenyans to submit their ideas to a special portal on the website of the US Embassy in Nairobi.

Mrs Clinton advised Kenyans to send their questions and ideas on specific issues touching on US foreign policy. The State Department will then address all these issues.

“Use the website to tell us what you think we can do to help you make your country better,” she said.

Her call against corruption in government continued, though this time she asked the youth to use new platforms like Twitter and Facebook –to protest against corruption-- as opposed to rowdy street demonstrations.

She restated the US’s commitment in mending relations with Kenya’s Muslims. She said President Obama’s recent trip to Cairo (Egypt) was the “beginning of dialogue” with Muslims.

She challenged religious groups in Kenya to spearhead the healing and reconciliation efforts.

For the first time in her Kenyan tour, Mrs Clinton subtly joined the Mau Forest debate terming the one percent forest cover in Kenya as “a terrible position.”

She said that even as the US worried about climate change, Kenya has to take care of its own microclimate.

The Secretary of State was responding to Mrs Grace Akumu from an environmental lobby group, who petitioned the US to scale down its green house emissions.

“Accept your responsibility in increasing the global warming,” Ms Akumu told the Secretary of State.

The public discussion at the university was broadcast live by at least three major local Television channels.

It was moderated by seasoned journalists Fareed Zakaria and Beatrice Marshall and lasted 90 minutes.

Meanwhile, Mrs Clinton said the US will impose sanctions on the countries funding terrorist organizations in Somalia.

She termed the many refugees holed up in camps in Northern Kenya and Nairobi as “a tragedy”.

“There is a lot that Kenyans have to worry about,” she said.