Kenya hires top US image firm

• Fact sheets to be given to media, government and business executives

The Kenyan government has retained a top Washington public relations firm to improve its image in the United States at a reported cost of Sh129 million ($1.7 million) over the next two years.

Officials at CLS & Associates confirm that the Kenyan Government has been added to its list of high-powered clients.

But the lobbyists declined to comment further on the grounds that the campaign on behalf of the Grand Coalition had not yet been fully formulated.

Kenya’s ambassador to the United States Peter Ogego also said he had no comment on the CLS contract.

The Paris-based Indian Ocean newsletter reported recently that the deal with CLS was made jointly by the office of the President and the Kenyan embassy in Washington.

In the initial phase of its work, CLS has compiled a series of eight fact sheets on Kenya for distribution to the US media, government officials in Washington and American corporate executives.

These brief releases attempt to put a positive spin on Kenya’s efforts at national reconciliation, its fight against corruption and the country’s security ties to the United States.

This strategy appears designed to highlight considerations that are already at the forefront of the Obama administration’s relations with the Grand Coalition.

Terror threat

While sharply criticising aspects of the Kenyan Government’s performance, senior State Department officials have also been emphasising Kenya’s importance to the United States in containing the threat of terrorism from Somalia and from individuals linked to al Qaeda.

CLS’ clients include corporations such as Pfizer; elite educational institutions such as Harvard University; and half-a-dozen governments in Europe, South America and Africa.

In a fact sheet entitled “A Stable Government,” CLS says Kenya has made significant strides toward reconciliation and reform in the past year.