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USA/Kenya: What Kind of Partnership?
AfricaFocus Bulletin
Aug 4, 2009 (090804)
(Reposted from sources cited below)
Editor's Note
"Many people had hoped that Kenya's 2007 presidential elections
would cement Kenya's democratic progress and would provide a solid
foundation for the country to break out of its economic doldrums
and begin to achieve some of its enormous economic potential.
Instead, the 2007 elections brought trade and commerce to a halt,
polarized the country along regional and ethnic lines and for a
brief moment nearly brought the country to the edge of civil war."
- Johnnie Carson, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa
Carson's analysis of the situation in Kenya corresponds closely
with that by Kenyan civil society critics. But he also affirms
clearly that "Kenya continues to be our most significant strategic
partner in East Africa." The implications in practice of the
combined critique and strategic partnership remain to be seen.
This AfricaFocus Bulletin, available on the web but not distributed
through e-mail, contains the transcript of the July 22 speech by
Carson. Another AfricaFocus Bulletin, on the web and sent out by email,
contains excerpt from an analysis by former Kenya National Commission on Human
Rights chairperson Maina Kiai and other commentaries on recent
Kenyan developments (see http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/ken0908.php).
For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins and other background links on
Kenya, visit http://www.africafocus.org/country/kenya.php
++++++++++++++++++++++end editor's note+++++++++++++++++++++++
Kenya and the U.S. - Meeting the Growing Challenge in East Africa
Johnnie Carson
Assistant Secretary of State
Bureau of African Affairs
National Endowment for Democracy
Washington, DC
July 22, 2009
http://www.state.gov/p/af/rls/rm/2009/126796.htm
President Gershman, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
thank you for this opportunity to be here today. As some of you
know, I approach the subject of Kenya with a degree of passion. The
four years I spent in Kenya were among some of the very best in my
Foreign Service career. It is hard not [to] love Kenya. Kenya has
a lot going for it. The country's natural beauty is almost
unmatched in Africa. The snow capped ridges of Mt. Kenya, the open
savannah of the Masai Mara, the calm waters of Lake Victoria and
the country's stunning Indian Ocean beaches make it a paradise for
those who love nature and the out doors. But even richer than the
beauty of the land is the character and quality of Kenya's people.
Kenyans are justly proud of their many accomplishments -- Nobel
Peace Prize winner Wangari Muthai, dozens of Olympic Medal holders,
one of the highest literacy rates in Africa, over a dozen public
and private universities, and the largest non-oil, non-mineral
economy in Africa.
Kenyans have accomplished a great deal over the course of the more
than six decades since Jomo Kenyatta, the country's first
president, published Facing Mount Kenya. Kenyatta and his
generation were pioneers in the anti-colonialism struggle that led
to the era of majority rule, greater economic opportunity for
Africans and the promise of a better future for all of the
country's citizens. Kenya also established a high standard for post
colonial race relations by welcoming the continued presence of
whites and Asians -- much as South Africa has done today.
As every person in this room knows well, Kenya has not always
adhered to the democratic ideals and practical experience that
guided its birth. And the current situation in Kenya highlights the
country's ongoing challenges to deepen its democracy and to make it
meaningful to all of its citizens.
Seven years ago, while serving as Ambassador to Kenya, I witnessed
the euphoria of the 2002 elections in that country, when current
President Kibaki brought together a strong coalition of opposition
parties to defeat the Kenya African National Union, which had ruled
Kenya since independence, first as a one-party state, and later in
a multiparty system. Many people thought President Moi would never
leave, that KANU was invincible and that the opposition would never
gain power in a peaceful and democratic election.
President Kibaki's overwhelming victory proved otherwise. It was a
time of great promise and excitement with high hopes that Kenya had
entered a new political and economic era.
Yet, five years later, in the last election, the progress that was
achieved by the advocates and supporters of democracy was seriously
derailed and nearly destroyed. With great dismay and
disappointment, Kenya's friends around the world watched as the
Kenyan Election Commission lost control of the electoral process
and the December 2007 elections turned into a bitter political
brawl and another deeply flawed African election. The post election
violence that erupted in January and February of 2008 remains
etched in the minds of many people. 1500 Kenyans were killed and
over 300,000 people were displaced from their homes.
Many people had hoped that Kenya's 2007 presidential elections
would cement Kenya's democratic progress and would provide a solid
foundation for the country to break out of its economic doldrums
and begin to achieve some of its enormous economic potential.
Instead, the 2007 elections brought trade and commerce to a halt,
polarized the country along regional and ethnic lines and for a
brief moment nearly brought the country to the edge of civil war.
The Kenya situation underscores the fact that while democracy has
made significant gains around Africa, it remains fragile and
subject to easy reversal even in relatively strong states like
Kenya.
Kenya's democratic health and stability, as well as its economic
vitality and success are important to the United States. Kenya
continues to be our most significant strategic partner in East
Africa. We have real security, economic, and political reasons for
wanting Kenya and the rest of East African region to succeed and
flourish.
Kenya has the region's largest economy and is the engine for growth
in the East African Community. It is an important transportation
hub for all of its neighboring states, including most of the
Eastern Congo, and it is a regional center for banking, industry,
agriculture and telecommunications. Nairobi is also the
headquarters of the largest UN regional headquarters in the
southern hemisphere and also the home of the largest U.S. embassy
south of the Sahara.
Kenya also faces some major security challenges. It has a five
hundred mile border with Africa's most volatile and unstable state
--- Somalia. Somalia's ongoing instability has sent close to
300,000 Somali refugees across the border into Kenya's northern
frontier district. What happens in Kenya has repercussions
throughout the region.
The after effects of Kenya's post election violence - combined with
the global financial crisis and the country's ongoing series of
droughts - have had a negative impact on Kenya's economy. Tourism
revenue has decreased sharply over the past two years and demand
for Kenya's exports has dropped as a result of the global downturn.
Kenya's strong seven percent real GDP growth in 2007, the highest
rate in 30 years, has declined to 1.7 percent in 2008 and in 2009,
the outlook is not promising. Kenya's relatively high population
growth continues to outstrip and undermine its economic gains.
Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan played a singularly
important role in preventing Kenya from sliding over the brink into
civil war and in ending the country's Kenya's post-election
violence. The elaborate political agreement that Kofi Annan forged
with the two competing parties resulted in the creation of a
coalition government. Although Kenya's new coalition government has
been in office since April 2008, the pace of the political reforms
proposed by Kofi Annan under Agenda Item Four has been slow and
uncertain. Work by an expert committee to draft a new constitution
is clearly underway but it remains to be seen whether the resulting
draft will be accepted or rejected by Parliament or whether it will
lead to another political crisis like the one that preceded the
breakup of the first Kibaki coalition and which led to a highly
contested constitutional referendum.
One area where the government has made some progress has been in
the area of electoral reform. A new interim Election Commission has
been established. It appears to be independent, well led and moving
ahead in fulfilling its mandate. However, systemic electoral reform
cannot be successfully completed until the country's constitutional
review process is passed through parliament.
Kenya also faces another big issue. It has to decide how it plans
to deal with the individuals responsible for the violence that
occurred after the 2007 presidential elections. Having identified
the leading suspects, Kofi Annan gave the Kenyan Government two
clear options. The Government could establish an independent court
in Kenya to try the suspects or he would turn the names over to the
ICC for investigation and prosecution. Although President Kibaki
and Prime Minister Raila Odinga favor the establishment of a local
tribunal, the parliament has rejected this idea once and may do so
again. Kofi Annan has decided not to wait for a second
parliamentary debate on this issue and has now turned over the
names of the post-election violence perpetrators to the ICC. Kenya
still has a chance to handle this issue internally, but much will
depend on what the parliament decides to do. In principle, the
United States believes that it is better to have a local tribunal
to try people who committed crimes in the community in which they
were committed, but we also believe such crimes should not go
unpunished.
In addition to the issues outlined by Kofi Annan, Kenya has four
major impediments to putting its domestic house in order:
- Widespread corruption - which affects the country's politics as
well as its business life.
- A weak judiciary that undermines the rule of law;
- A partisan political gridlock that views politics as a zero sum
game; and
- Growing lawlessness among the police.
Corruption:
Let me say more - corruption is killing Kenya. Over the past two
decades, Kenya has endured two mega corruption scandals - the
Goldenburg scandal of the early 1990's in which nearly a billion
dollars (one tenth of the country's GDP at the time) was stolen and
most recently in 2004 the Anglo Leasing scandal in which over a
million dollars of government money was lost. During this same
period, there have been dozens of lesser scams and scandals -- many
involving senior government officials and politicians -- that have
cost the Government of Kenya millions of dollars in taxpayer money.
Under the watchful eye of Kenya's long serving Attorney General -
a man who has served loyally under President Kibaki and President
Moi - not one, not one government official or serving politician
has been successfully prosecuted for corruption in Kenya in two
decades. Kenya's six year old anti-corruption authority has
demonstrated a similar success rate.
Judiciary
Kenya's court system has also shown a willingness to play along
with the Attorney General's style of politics. On the rare
occasions when corruption cases are presented to the courts, they
are thrown out on procedural grounds or are allowed to die in a sea
of judicial bureaucracy. In Kenya, there is a saying that sums up
the public attitudes towards the nation's courts: "Why hire a
lawyer when you can buy a judge."
Partisan Political Gridlock
The coalition government that was established following the post
election violence has never really jelled or come together -
despite the early good efforts of the country two top political
leaders, President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. From the
beginning, they worked hard and earnestly tried. And although
political leaders from the two main parties have sat beside one
another in parliament and in the cabinet, they have for the most
part not set aside their bitterness, their personal rivalries and
their regional interests. Many of the key political and
constitutional issues - such as devolution of power, the structure
of the executive branch, and the reduction of presidential powers -
still divide the country's key political blocs and leaders.
Extrajudicial Killings
The rise of extrajudicial killings has also put a damper on reform
and the work of civil society groups in Kenya. It has also
contributed to the unease that some Kenyans feel about the
country's political institutions and the prospects for additional
democratic progress. Over the past two years various human rights
groups and political leaders estimate that hundreds of
extrajudicial killings have taken place in Kenya -- some of them
carried out against civil society leaders investigating government
corruption and police misconduct. Several leading politicians have
accused elements inside the Kenyan police of being behind many of
the killings and abductions. With parts of civil society
intimidated and silenced, the number of Kenyans willing to speak
out against corruption, judicial malfeasance, and partisan
political gridlock diminishes.
Kenya's prospects for renewed growth and ultimate prosperity will
depend a lot on the successful implementation of the long-term
measures set out in the Kofi Annan mediated accord. Kenya's leaders
need to endorse constitutional reform that meaningfully addresses
contentious issues, including executive power, judicial and police
reform and land issues.
We believe that police reform, from the top down, is crucial to
restoring public confidence and combating systemic corruption, and
that impunity for politically motivated violence and extrajudicial
killings must be addressed seriously and swiftly.
Kenya has failed to harness its full potential and runs the serious
risk of falling backwards rather than surging forward. With a young
and highly educated population facing greater unemployment and
economic hardship, increasing inequality between rich and poor
Kenyans, and growing demands on a shrinking supply of arable land,
the social and economic demands on the country will undermine its
stability and long term growth prospects. Regional insecurity
emanating from its neighbor to the north will also add to the
country's political and economic burden.
To pull the vast majority of Kenyans out of poverty and fully
realize the country's vast economic potential, Kenya must develop
strong democratic institutions, honest government, transparent and
accountable leaders and a judicial system that works. In Accra,
President Obama was clear, Africa does not need strong men, it
needs strong institutions. Only with strengthened institutions will
it have the chance to resume its role as the regional economic
engine of the East African Community and promote itself and the
region as a market for trade and investment. Kenyan leaders must
see strengthening of internal institutions for democratic
governance, not as something which the U. S. desires, but as a
necessary foundation for long-term, stable growth, to provide
better education, health services, and increased food production
for Kenya's citizens. Kenyan politicians must also abandon the
notion that politics is a zero sum game - I win and you lose - and
begin to make compromises and decisions that place the interest of
the nation above their more narrow personal, partisan, and regional
interests.
Secretary of State Clinton will visit Kenya on the occasion of the
AGOA conference in early August. Although this is largely a trade
and commercial event, she will use the occasion to reinforce the
message that we view Kenya as an important and long standing
regional partner. We value Kenya's friendship and that we stand
ready to help Kenya strengthen its democratic institutions, fight
corruption, counter the rise in extrajudicial killings and to deal
with some of its mounting socio-economic problems. As a friend,
that's what we should do, help. However, without improvement in
these areas, Kenya's ability to grow its economy and maintain its
leadership in the front rank of African states will decline, and
stability in the region will do so as well.
I will conclude where I began, with Kenya's legacy in the struggle
for independence and majority rule. Kenya's struggle for majority
rule was long and certainly often violent. Yet, at the end of the
day, bold, courageous, political leadership by Kenyans brought
about a national reconciliation that endured for decades. There is
every reason to believe that once again, Kenyans can and will draw
on this rich historical legacy of just reconciliation under the law
and lead their country forward as an example, not only for Africa,
but for the world. That is the objective of U.S. policy and we will
be there to support Kenya with specific programs adapted to Kenya's
needs. Kenya is a magnificent country, a great friend of the United
States, and its people deserve our support. Again, thank you for
allowing me to address you today. I look forward to hearing any
comments or answering any questions you may have.
AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication
providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with
a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus
Bulletin is edited by William Minter.
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