We would be lying to ourselves if we said that Kenya has not been hurt by the cold shoulder that President Barack Obama of the United States has given the country of his father’s birth. So far, the Kenyan-American, who is the first black to occupy the White House, has visited Egypt and Ghana on the African continent.
But he has studiously avoided visiting Kenya or engaging its leadership. It is an understatement to say that President Obama is deeply disappointed with the government’s unwillingness and inability to reform Kenya and end impunity.
However, by sending Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Nairobi, he was hinting that Kenya could benefit from the Obama dividend if its leadership woke up. The Clinton visit to Nairobi was an object lesson in what is evolving as the Obama Doctrine in foreign policy.
And this is where President Obama and Secretary Clinton differ from Ambassador Michael Ranneberger, the noisy diplomat in Nairobi. The good ambassador still thinks that he is working for President George W. Bush whose trademark was hectoring and lecturing other countries about everything.
Where Mr Bush carried the big stick, usually against brown and black peoples, Mr Obama’s rhetorical style suggests mutual respect and a principled commitment to the core values of democracy, human rights and markets. But rhetoric and reality are different, and only time will tell whether President Obama can actually reform the institution of US foreign policy.
However, there is a silhouette of the evolving US foreign policy. Rather than lecture, Mr Obama wants to engage citizens directly by challenging them to be the agents of reform. This is what Mr Obama did when he gave the historic speech to the Muslim ummah in Cairo.
He implored the people – the non-governmental sector – to lead the struggle for change. In Nairobi last week, Secretary Clinton emphasised the same theme when she repeatedly asked civil society to push for reforms. She understands – as do all those who study society – that civil society is the cartilage that makes democracy possible.
Muzzle civil society, the independent “eye of the people,” and you kill democracy. Only civil society can unmask the intrigues of the conniving elite. Implicit in President Obama’s Cairo speech was a subtly brilliant condemnation of Arab ruling classes.
Rather than denounce them publicly, and risk being an arrogant American imperialist, Mr Obama instead spoke directly to the masses. He told them what they ought to expect of their lives, but the onus is on them to fight for what they want. Don’t rely on your failed leaders, Mr Obama seemed to say.
Take your destiny into your own hands. Similarly, Secretary Clinton took the same tack in Nairobi. She expressed disappointment with the coalition government but asked the people to demand the change they need. In my view, this was a direct rebuke of President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Secretary Clinton left no doubt that the failure of the government to establish a special local tribunal to try post-election violence suspects was attributable to President Kibaki and Mr Odinga. The buck stops with the two principals. If they have no power to rule over their own government, who does?
But Secretary Clinton also said another important thing – America will not interfere in Kenya’s internal affairs. This is central to the Obama Doctrine – Kenya is your responsibility. But the statement is a double-edged sword.
Yes, we respect your sovereignty. But the reverse side of that statement is that do not expect any help from us if you do not put your house in order. That’s right – you can “eat” your sovereign independence if you don’t fight impunity.
But we should note that the US may slap travel bans on Kenyan leaders, freeze their assets, and reduce government aid. The message from the White House is clear. My father was Kenyan, and I am proud of that fact. I have blood relatives living among you.
But I will not let one Obama drop of rain water your country unless either your leadership carries out genuine reforms, or you throw them out and elect a reformist government. That is what the Obama dividend is all about – it will help those who help themselves.
No sentimental feelings about Kenya will cause Mr Obama to shift American policy towards Kenya so that American manna falls on Kenya. He is rightly treating his father’s country like a sick alcoholic. Stop drinking and end spousal abuse first if you need my help. That’s what he seems to be saying.
What is so tragic is that Kenya has never had such a good friend in the White House. He is part Kenyan and has visited his Kenyan grandmother – who is still alive – and the rest of his relatives in rural Kenya. There has never been an American President who knew Kenya so well, or was so intimately connected to it. There may never be again.
In the one moment in history when Kenya could have forged a “special” relationship with the United States, the pigs at the trough cannot help themselves. When this moment passes – and it will in either four, but hopefully eight years – it will forever be lost to history.
But let me be clear. The reform and development of Kenya is the primary responsibility of Kenyans. The United States cannot – and won’t – develop Kenya. But the imperatives of globalisation require that countries forge mutually beneficial relationships. For Kenya, no relationship could be more bountiful at this moment than with the United States.
Makau Mutua is Dean and SUNY Distinguished Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School and Chair of the Kenya Human Rights Commission.
source.nation.ke
