Kenya diplomacy should strategise to court Obama
What you need to know:
Parochial as it may seem, the one country on the continent that Obama could have made his first stop is Kenya. However, certain factors might have constrained such a tour.
Kenya has gone through turbulent times in the last couple of months due to an elongated and fractious election season. The “son of Kogelo” would easily have waded into our ethnically divisive politics.
The planning that goes into organising high profile events such as Obama’s Mandela tour in South Africa means that it is too late for Nairobi to persuade him to make a stopover.
This week, the Nelson Mandela and Obama foundations announced that Barack Obama would deliver the annual Nelson Mandela lecture in July.
In its 16th year, the Johannesburg event will coincide with the centennial birthday of the departed freedom icon.
The anticipated event has garnered hype conspicuously so in the US and South Africa.
Going by media reporting, the rest of the world has taken note. This is to be expected. The name Mandela conjures images of a saint-like-leader.
LEGACIES
The Obama-mania still excites passions nearly 10 years since he made history as the first black US president. The confluence of the Mandela-Obama legacies presents a near-perfect publicity situation.
To be certain, Mandela had his failing. Criticism has especially been directed towards Mandela in the wake of the death of his former wife, Winnie.
Critics hold that Mandela sold out the black majority to “white monopoly capital”.
Obama has had his fair share of negative appraisal. Some say his assistance to Africa was little and came late in his presidency.
On the whole, however, the names Mandela and Obama retain currency as towering figures of 21st century geopolitics. The world has been forgiving of their foibles, celebratory of their ethos.
EULOGY
As such, people around the world will tune in on July 17 as Obama electrifies his audience with his speech.
In a sense, Obama has loads of fodder to draw on as he mulls the thoughts he will share with the world. His eulogy at Mandela’s funeral in 2013 is one of the finest.
Such is Obama’s reputational capital that any country he visits attracts global publicity. Come July 17 and South Africa will be thrust into the global glow of the limelight that follows Obama. This is a scoop for South Africa.
Obama will no doubt bolster the legacy of a historical figure with whom he shares striking similarities. Both were the first black leaders of their racially divided countries. This and other narratives are a great opportunity for South African diplomacy, as the Rainbow Nation gets marketed anew.
NON-AFRICAN
Since his retirement, Obama has visited at least seven countries, all non-African. South Africa will be the first African country he visits since leaving office. It may be the case that Obama will be visiting at the invitation of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
The question must, however, be posed as to why Africa has not been his first port of call, considering his roots.
Parochial as it may seem, the one country on the continent that Obama could have made his first stop is Kenya. However, certain factors might have constrained such a tour.
Kenya has gone through turbulent times in the last couple of months due to an elongated and fractious election season. The “son of Kogelo” would easily have waded into our ethnically divisive politics.
POLICY
An even more compelling constraint on Obama’s visit to Kenya is the country’s weak diplomatic agency.
Notably, Obama is not visiting South Africa on his own volition. The Nelson Mandela Foundation has stated that he was selected for the key note speech role. South African and US diplomats must have been fully briefed of the plan.
Arguably, Kenya’s diplomacy could have strategised to court Obama as a means of bolstering the country’s foreign policy calls.
After all, when he visited Nairobi in 2015, Obama promised to return as a private citizen.
ENTREATIES
Granted, Obama is an American rather than Kenyan. Still, as the adage goes, blood is thicker than water. He vicariously serves as Kenya’s ambassador. A visit by Obama after the now famous handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga could have catalysed the internal healing while repositioning the country externally.
The planning that goes into organising high profile events such as Obama’s Mandela tour in South Africa means that it is too late for Nairobi to persuade him to make a stopover.
The Kenyan diplomacy machinery can however start putting in motion entreaties for an Obama visit.
Wekesa is a media and geopolitics scholar at University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, [email protected]
