I like many other Kenyan’s was NOT privy to the secretary of
State visit BUT I made a point to watching her visit unfold on television and read
opinion pieces about her visit on our dailies.
One thing that emerges is one part of the coalition was angered
by her visit because she outlined her government’s position on some presidential
candidates. It is said that she made it clear that the US is NOT pleased with
the two Presidential aspirants who are also ICC suspects contending for the
country’s top position. She must have made this clear when she met with our
president at State House. The TV footage of this visit showed that present on
this meeting was the Chief of General Staff Kenya Gen. Julius Karangi.
Her delegation also met with the IEBC chairman Ahmed Issack
and made an offer to secure BVR kits which was rejected by the commission.
 |
| Clinton with Raila. Source: PMPS |
However, the interesting meeting was between the Secretary
of State and our Prime Minister. The Secretary of State got a hug from our ‘western
& media savvy’ Prime Minister and in his entourage was the Water Minister
Ms Charity Ngilu! Maybe, the PM’s office did their homework and knew the Secretary
of State being the second woman after Condoleezza Rice to hold the current
office appreciates women in power.
However, the missing narrative in this discourse was the
Secretary of State meeting with Somali President in Nairobi. I have seen few
narratives on this issue mainly from the East African Standard [a weekly
publication focusing on the region owned by nation Media Group]
.
The Secretary of
State also met with the head of the Judiciary, CJ William Mutunga. This is the
meeting that had some commentators raising eye brows because our Foreign
Minister Hon. Ongeri was NOT present in the meeting. But the Secretary of State
and her entourage we’re correct in locking out the FM because he is NOT a
member of the Judiciary.
The interesting thing is that all this meetings occurred in
one day and for that matter on a Saturday [August 4, 2012].
Other talking points of this visit were that the US was now
getting to see Africa through the eyes of the Chinese. In fact during her trip
in Africa the Secretary had made some comments which annoyed the Chinese and
from her meeting with IEBC and Civil Society it appears the Chinese were on
hand to question her.
Above all this visit by the Sec. of State highlights the importance the Obama administration attaches to Kenya especially as it approaches the elections in March 2013 and the region and as America changes its approach to Africa.
Some of the silent features of this visit were the US Embassy in Kenya was not in order because of changes at the US Embassy in Kenya.
Recommended reading:
No comments:
Post a Comment