From: Padwa Daniel
Date: Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 4:53 AM
Subject: Re: Kenya and U.S. Policy
— On Tue, 8/11/09, Judy Miriga wrote:
From: Judy Miriga
Subject: Kenya and U.S. Policy
Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2009, 7:30 AM
Kenya and U.S. Policy
The African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum in Kenya last week was a tremendous stage for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to launch her tour of Africa to promote a new partnership between the United States and the nations of the continent to replace the prescriptive nature of our previous engagement. However, as the Secretary’s visit demonstrates, it is not possible to completely transform American engagement.
Secretary Clinton consistently hit the key points of American policy toward Kenya: 1) reform that will effectively tackle the scourge of corruption, 2) cooperation within the Government of National Unity that will eliminate the threat of resumed violence like that which followed the disputed 2007 elections and 3) either a tribunal or cooperation with international judicial authorities leading to the prosecution of those responsible for the serious human rights violations following the 2007 elections.
Certainly, there is nothing untoward about what Secretary Clinton, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Johnny Carson or U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger have said or are saying about Kenya. I would suggest that partnership requires straight talk and does not mean that one should only point to “blue skies” in a genuine relationship. If your friend is about to step in a hole, you are required to tell them so, and make no mistake, Kenya remains in a very precarious situation absent some significant movement on the reform and governance agendas.
Nevertheless, the more we public scold Kenyan officials, the more they dig in their heels against our prescriptions. Of course, Kenyans generally do not share this view of U.S. heavy-handedness. Nine out of 10 Kenyans view the United States favorably, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Kenyan civil society has been America’s biggest cheerleader on pushing the Kenyan government to make the changes championed by the Obama administration. So while Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga wants America to “Quit lecturing Africa on politics,” as one Daily Nation headline asserted, his people don’t appear to share his view.
What Secretary Clinton will find is that telling our African allies what we think should be done is part of being a good ally. Consequently, U.S. policy will continue to be at least partially prescriptive so long as the countries we engage have serious issues that we believe need to be addressed. After all, they don’t hesitate to tell us what we need to do, now do they?
http://africarising2010.blogspot.com/
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
If you have half brain you could see it coming!!…Kenya politicians are like weather in Michigan in the Midwestern USA.Here there is nothing defenate about the weather..you must always wait and see..never rely on weather reports! It has been interesting following debate process to set up tribunal for suspect in last year election. From the puportted one year extension to set up tribunal, No ICC, Truth commission now, No domestic tribunal and may be tribunal. Question to Kenya public, do these politicians know what they are talking about or do they know that words they utter have meaning to the public?
I see today ODM is now behind setting up domestic tribunal..what happen to the Truth commission they were supporting last week???. Is this the same group who was saying that they are sick of “outsiders… the West bossing them around and telling them how to run the affairs of this country”
Your Kenya politicians always loath Wasungus / Western countries in public but in private these Wasungus and their government rocks/rule! in telling these ” esteem leaders” what to do, how to do it and when to do it! Without these outside governments they would be no current government in Kenya. If you care to recall this government was only formed after the same Western governments threaten these leaders and their families that “they would be banned from coming West if they don’t come together and form government”..look it up!
Now history is about to repeat it self. Kenya politicians have been told again that if they don’t form effective tribunal or send those suspected in last year election crimes be banned from traveling abroad. So when you see these politicians scrambling to form this domestic tribunal, think and thank the publicly despised Wasungu governments in the West.
None of these politicians believe in this tribunal but they don’t have choice this time the West want them to be carried out and cannot be watered down like past commissions this country has witnessed in the past 4o years. So my friends again without these Wasungus your politicians will keep lying to you and if this tribunal produce any results please, don’t forget to thank Wasungus for me!