Meg Whitman responds to critics as opposition presents wish list to Trump
US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman has defended her role and reaffirmed her commitment to positive US-Kenya relations in the face of calls from Kenyan opposition leaders and sections of the public for her recall.
Critics have accused her of “meddling” in Kenyan affairs, particularly in her comments on the country’s political landscape and electoral processes.
Speaking at the devolution conference in August last year, Mr Odinga warned her to stay out of Kenyan affairs, saying Kenya was not a US colony and should be left to its own devices.
“Tell the rogue ambassador Kenya is not the United States. Kenya is not a colony of the United States. Keep your mouth while you are here. Otherwise, we will call for your recall back to your country,” Mr Odinga said.
On Thursday, Ms Whitman said her priority remained to strengthen diplomatic ties and promote mutual cooperation between the two nations, especially on security and democratic values, even as opposition leaders included her recall among their expectations of the incoming Donald Trump administration.
She had been accused by the opposition of flirting with the Ruto government and thus contradicting the tenets of democracy.
But on Thursday, Ms Whitman said the US embassy in Nairobi would continue to advance the shared goals of the two countries.
“Like all US ambassadors, I serve at the request of the President. The American people have spoken, and a new President will be inaugurated in January.
“Meanwhile, my team and I continue to work on advancing our nations’ shared goals of increased prosperity, security, and respect for democratic values,” she said in a statement following Nation’s inquiries on Thursday.
The relationship between the United States and Kenya, she noted, has matured over the past 60 years and enjoys the support of a broad spectrum of political leaders in both Washington and Nairobi.
“Our relations have never been stronger and I am confident this trajectory will continue,” she said.
However, Kenya’s opposition leaders have issued a wish list for the incoming Trump administration in a bid to strengthen future relations between Nairobi and Washington.
They shared priorities they hope the incoming Trump administration will address to improve relations between the two countries, including the recall of Ms Whitman.
They said that apart from fostering stronger economic partnerships, securing better trade agreements, enhancing security cooperation and promoting more favourable visa policies for Kenyan nationals to bolster Kenya’s diplomatic and economic ties with the US, the new administration needs to review the dealings between the Kenya Kwanza government and the outgoing Joe-Biden administration.
Azimio la Umoja One Kenya principal Eugene Wamalwa said the incoming Trump administration must look into what he called possible “underhand financial dealings in support of Kenya’s Haiti mission”.
So far, Kenya and Jamaica are the only countries to have sent officers to the troubled Caribbean nation.
President Ruto had announced that an additional 600 police officers undergoing training would be deployed to Haiti as part of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.
“We do believe there were some underhand dealings on the Haiti deal. So we would want the new administration to look into the issue of funding and whether everything was done properly in accordance to the US laws,” Mr Wamalwa said.
He said the country needs to know whether there was any element of questionable funding deals “because we are told that our officers there are not properly remunerated.”
“We want to know where they money has gone, how much was given to Ruto and his rogue regime and how much has actually been remitted to the officers on the ground,’ the DAP-K party leader said.
Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua said the Trump administration needs to defund the Haiti mission and deploy a “non-partisan ambassador to Kenya.”
“I also hope Haiti mission gets defunded…but as a Kenyan politician the immediate benefit of a Trump win is the prospects of Kenya getting new US Ambassador who will hopefully be non-partisan unlike the current one, who passes as an ally of the Kenya Kwanza regime,” the 2022 Azimio presidential running mate told Nation.
Mr Wamalwa also expressed the need for the new US administration to address the rampant cases of human rights violations in the country, which he said were at unprecedented levels.
“The fact that the Biden administration has actually turned a blind eye and gone to bed with a ruthless dictator called William Ruto despite the fact that his administration has abetted matters of gross human rights violations is a major concern for us.
“From last year, there were demos here in Kenya against the 2023 Finance Bill, this year we had the Gen Z demos against the 2024 Finance Bill. At least 75 Kenyans were killed last year, over 60 Gen Zs were killed this year, yet the Biden administration had actually turned a blind eye to these gross violations of human rights because they were in bed with a dictator and now we’re talking about abductions but they’ve been very half-hearted,” Mr Wamalwa charged.
Machakos Deputy Governor Francis Mwangangi said there was a need for the US administration and Kenya to foster stronger economic partnerships.
“The two nations need to secure better trade agreements, enhance security cooperation and promote a more favourable visa policy for Kenyan nationals to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties between Kenya and the US,” Mr Mwangangi told Nation.
Mr Mwangangi pointed out that there was hope that the Trump administration would also slow down the Russia-Ukraine war, a move that would reduce the high cost of living orchestrated by the prolonged wars.
“At least developing countries will benefit, as the war has also consumed huge resources that could be used to benefit African nations,” he said.
Since Trump does not prefer to impose certain conditions on Africans, such as the LGBTQ, Mr Mwangangi said, “we hope this will help preserve Kenya’s religious values”.
Mr Wamalwa claimed that under the Biden administration, there were several conditions attached to the country that could be related to LGBTQ.
“We would like to see a change in approach so that there is this mutual respect for our sovereignty, respect for African culture and our Christian and Muslim values. We expect the new administration to really look at these issues,” said Wamalwa.
The current Biden administration, Mr Wamalwa said, had left Kenya at the mercy of the “Kenya Kwanza dictatorship”.
“We expect that with the change of administration, there will be a change in the way they do things. The Trump regime has come at the right time when Kenya is most affected by increased abductions, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, and so we want the new administration to take a fresh look at these issues.”
jjochieng@ke.nationmedia.com
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