Kenya ready to receive US leader and sign key business deals during summit

US President Barack Obama arrives in Nairobi on Friday on a historic visit, the first to Kenya by a sitting American head of state.

Mr Obama is expected to land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport either late in the afternoon or early in the evening.

The Kenya Government and the US embassy in Nairobi on Thursday assured the public that there would be minimal disruption to normal life as the US President moves around the capital to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, which closes on Saturday.

Mr Obama will also attend other private and public engagements, including an address to the Kenyan people on Sunday.

There had been fears that roads would be blocked and mobile telephone and data connections interrupted due to the stringent security standards for the president.

DISRUPTIONS

However, US Ambassador Robert Godec on Thursday said they expected disruptions to be “minimal”.

Safaricom, the leading mobile phone service provider, also issued a statement saying it had enhanced its capacity but that there will be intermittent disruption of services.

Its rival, Airtel Kenya, also said there were no plans for interruptions but that it would notify its customers in case of a change.

On the eve of his trip, President Obama said he was excited about the impending visit to his ancestral continent, which he said had great resilience and enormous potential for growth. Mr Obama’s father was a Kenyan while his mother was American.

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed on Thursday sought to clear the air about whether Deputy President William Ruto, who is still facing a case at the International Criminal Court, will be in the government delegation that will hold talks with Mr Obama.

“Are we going to have meetings with a whole government? Absolutely! We have a full bilateral that is scheduled for Saturday and at that bilateral, we will all (the Cabinet) be present,” she told reporters at Harambee House in Nairobi.

“It is not normal for a visiting head of state to meet with the deputy president. It does not happen anywhere in the world,” she said.

On Wednesday, US National Security Adviser Susan Rice had said there would be no one-on-one meetings between Mr Obama and Mr Ruto.

BILATERAL DEALS

Kenya expects to sign several bilateral deals with the US before the summit ends.

Today, Kenya and the US are expected to sign agreements on health, education, taxation and visa extension. Details of the deals will, however, be announced once they are signed.

President Obama will meet with his host, President Uhuru Kenyatta, tomorrow to discuss “issues of mutual interest,” according to Mr Godec.

They will range from “priority areas” such as trade and linkages, security and violent extremism in Kenya and across the region, partnerships in health, combating poaching and wildlife and “accelerating efforts to bolster transparency and tackle corruption”.

But while Ms Mohamed argued that the visit and the meeting showed a better leadership in Kenya today, Mr Godec said that his government would still press for more democratic space and fight against corruption.

“The United States continues to believe that justice, human rights and rule of law are critically important. These are values that we frankly promote and work for across the world... I am confident that we will continue to speak on those matters when and where appropriate.”

According to an itinerary released yesterday, Mr Obama “plans to meet with a wide cross-section” of civil society. Mr Godec said the meetings will underscore “our view that a strong and vibrant civil society is vital to robust democratic institutions, economic well-being, and promoting a sustainable economy including preserving Kenya’s natural gifts.”

NO HOSTILITY

The meeting may have been prompted by several letters by human rights groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to Mr Obama, charging that Kenya’s civil liberties were slowly being limited by the government.

Yesterday, Ms Mohamed denied the charge, saying civil society groups have “contributed tremendously to the development of this country so we have absolutely no hostile relationship with them”.

She said Mr Obama was free to meet with any person in Kenya. 

Later in the day, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery said security measures had been put in place and that the country was ready to receive Mr Obama and other dignitaries.

He said that even before the announcement of President Obama’s visit, Kenya had already made positive progress on security.

“We have improved inter-agency coordination, programmes to secure our borders and tackling the underlying issues, in particular radicalisation that feeds into terrorism,” he said.

The CS said the reopening of the Westgate Mall last week was proof that the country would not be cowed by terrorists.

While criticising reports by CNN, which had described Kenya as a "terror hotbed", Maj-Gen (Rtd) Nkaissery said: “President Barack Obama’s visit and the co-hosting of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit is yet another proof of the affirmation of the state of security in our country.”