Barack Obama's visit was a massive boost for Kenya

What you need to know:

  • A big plus was that the American delegation of top government officials, leading entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and thought leaders, TV celebrities and media, together with visitors from Europe, Asia, and other parts of Africa, got the opportunity to see a Kenya that is far removed from the usual headlines of terrorist attacks.

  • They saw a modern Kenya at the cutting edge of technology as exemplified by M-Pesa, Ushahidi and other local innovations mentioned by Presidents Kenyatta and Obama that have caught global attention.

  • One of the biggest gainers from the presidential visit was the Jubilee administration, which, since coming to power in 2013, had never quite managed to repair strained relations with such a key traditional ally.

President Barack Obama’s visit was a massive boost for Kenya. For three days, it firmly placed on the global spotlight a country that has, over the past few years, garnered international headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Terrorism, crime, ethnic feuds, political violence, and unchecked corruption have all conspired to darken the image of a country that once stood as a beacon of light in a troubled region.

All became buzzwords for Kenya in the international media, and the headlines from frequent terrorist attacks forced a massive downturn in the best-established tourism market in sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa.

Asked at a joint State House news conference with President Kenyatta about the negative travel advisories that serve to keep away tourists, the US president explained that he had no role in what were essentially US State Department decisions based on their own analysis of security threats.

But he pointed out that he had visited with a large official delegation  and attracted hundreds of delegates from the US and around the world for his annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit, hosted this time in Kenya,   that was in itself a massive vote of confidence.

MODERN KENYA

A big plus was that the American delegation of top government officials, leading entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and thought leaders, TV celebrities and media, together with visitors from Europe, Asia, and other parts of Africa, got the opportunity to see a Kenya that is far removed from the usual headlines of terrorist attacks.

They saw a modern Kenya at the cutting edge of technology as exemplified by M-Pesa, Ushahidi and other local innovations mentioned by Presidents Kenyatta and Obama that have caught global attention.

True, they were cloistered at the UN complex in Gigiri and at various hotels inside security bubbles that guaranteed safety from the Al-Shabaab threat, but also prevented them from experiencing the sights, sounds, smells and pulse of the real Kenya.

They did not get to see real Kenyans in their everyday life, walk the streets, visit shopping malls, residential estates, marketplaces and other places where the people live and work. 

The extraordinary security around not just President Obama, but also the conference, may have had the delegates feeling safe and secure, but could also have induced a claustrophobia to validate CNN’s infamous “hotbed of terrorism” gaffe.

BIGGEST GAINERS

All the same, there was something eye-opening, especially for first-time visitors who might have been under the impression that Kenya — and Africa in general — is a primitive backwater still stuck in the stone age.

One of the biggest gainers from the presidential visit was the Jubilee administration, which, since coming to power in 2013, had never quite managed to repair strained relations with such a key traditional ally.

President Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto were elected ringing in their ears the “choices have consequences” warning to Kenyans from the US State Department’s lead man on Africa, Mr Johnnie Carson,  and British High Commissioner  Christian Turner’s statement that his country would limit relationships to “essential contacts” should the two, facing International Criminal Court indictments, be elected.

The warnings — together with the belief that the US, UK and other western nations had influenced the ICC’s indictment of Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto so that opposition leader Raila Odinga could get a clear run to State House — poisoned relations seriously once the Jubilee administration took office. 

PROSECUTIONS COLLAPSED

Although President Kenyatta has made a couple of official visits to the US, it has always been as part of a larger gathering such as a United Nations General Assembly or an African leaders forum hosted by President Obama. Visits to Britain have been even less frequent, such as stopovers or private missions.

The previous practice had always been for a new Kenyan leader to secure early State visits to Washington and London, but with the ICC cases hanging over their heads, Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto were clearly shunned by the West as the spectre of international isolation loomed.

Things changed a great deal when the prosecutions collapsed. President Kenyatta has managed to shake-off the crimes against humanity charges, and it looks increasing likely that Mr Ruto will walk too as the inept prosecution case winds up.

It is most likely that the ICC outcome greatly influenced President Obama’s decision to not just visit Kenya but also send very strong signals that he recognises the Kenyatta regime.

Washington also needed to move fast to repair relations with a traditional ally and counter growing Chinese influence in the country.

LOOK EAST POLICY

The “Look East” policy initiated by President Mwai Kibaki and accelerated by President Kenyatta has not only earned big dividends for Kenya in loans and grants for major infrastructure projects; it has also demonstrated that Kenya can afford to ignore traditional western lenders and donors.

The repairing of relationships between Nairobi and Washington, and the Chinese card, featured heavily in the backdrop of all Uhuru-Obama engagements. The two presidents managed to deftly dance around the questions at various forums.

President Obama’s standard refrain was that it was about renewing and strengthening traditional ties rather than repairing any fissures or responding to a third party. President Kenyatta put it that for Kenya it was not about looking West or East, but looking forward on the path of development.

The warm hugs, firm extended handshakes, arms around the shoulders, backslapping and numerous whispered conversations were all signs that Mr Kenyatta and Mr Obama had found a rapport after years of tension.

HUMAN RIGHTS

The US president did deliver some very strong admonitions on pressing matters such as corruption, human rights, good governance and equal allocation of resources, but he did so carefully, in terms designed not to annoy his host. He took on the tone of offering friendly advice rather than  criticising the Kenyatta administration and, as often as he could, praised the government for the corrective steps it was taking.

President Kenyatta also was careful, except on the issue of gay rights, not to directly disagree with his guest.

The two got on famously enough to signal a proper thawing of relations not just between countries, but between presidents.

Even the issue of whether Deputy President Ruto would be isolated during the visit because of his ongoing ICC case turned out to be a non-issue.

OPPOSITION'S DOUBLESPEAK

If the new-found friendship turned out to be a real bonus for President Kenyatta, the same cannot be said of an opposition that was left with only negatives in the wake of a meeting with President Obama. Jubilee supporters have always been suspicious that Cord leader Raila Odinga enjoys the support and friendship of President Obama, a perception he has not been shy to exploit.

But during this visit, opposition leaders Odinga, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka and Mr Moses Wetang'ula from Cord and Ms Martha Karua from Narc Kenya, were given only a brief audience, getting even less time than civil society and youth groups.

Worse, Mr Obama publicly revealed that in his private meeting with the opposition chiefs, he was constrained to tell-off one of them for asking him to put pressure on the government, yet previously when in government demanded that US cease interference in internal affairs.

With that kind of negative perception, the opposition leaders were forced into damage control spin. They called a press briefing on Monday to give their own version of the outcome from their meeting with President Obama. They enumerated the concerns they had raised—human rights, corruption, a credible election system and fair sharing of resources—that had actually come to form the cornerstones of the US leaders memorable address to Kenyans.

ERRONEOUS PERCEPTION

From the other side, Mr Kenyatta own aides were also scrambling to present their own spin. His communications team put out highly selective versions of the highlights from the Kasarani speech and the State House press conference.

In between the spin, however, there were clear indications of a major shift. On social media, blogs and public statements, Jubilee supporters who usually are full of insults directed against the US suddenly changed tone and went into celebratory mode.

Their general take was that President Obama had endorsed Mr Kenyatta and turned his back on Mr Odinga. 

That may be a rather erroneous interpretation, but perceptions on such things do matter.

The risk here is that the government may take it that having won the seal of approval, it need not bother to follow up on the very serious issues raised by President Obama on matters such as human rights, freedom of media and expression, corruption, and good governance.

President Obama very deliberately made it public that the issues raised in his speeches and press conferences had also been raised in the closed bilateral meetings between the two government delegations. He was therefore signaling that the government must be closely watched on its commitments.

 

[email protected]. Twitter: @MachariaGaitho