Council on Foreign Relations
Monday August 27, 2018
By John Campbell
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta arrives to inspect a guard of honor before the annual State of the Nation address at the Parliament Buildings in Nairobi, Kenya May 2, 2018. Thomas Mukoya/Reuters
President Donald Trump will receive President Uhuru Kenyatta
of Kenya in Washington, D.C. today, the second African chief of state
to make a bilateral visit since becoming president in 2016. The
conversation will reportedly focus on trade and investment—the reason
for Kenyatta’s visit to the United States—with specific attention paid
to China's increasing involvement in Kenya, and security issues with a
focus on Somalia.
The visit is an opportunity for both presidents to burnish their
damaged international reputations. In 2012, Kenyatta was charged by the
International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity linked to
violence associated with the 2007–8 election cycle (though the charges were dropped in 2014 after
alleged witness intimidation). The 2017 national elections in Kenya
were “irregular,” to put forward the most favorable of interpretations;
the country seemed to be on the brink of serious ethnic conflict, with
plenty of blame to be shared by Kenyatta and his long-time rival, Raila
Odinga.
For his part, President Trump’s rhetoric on Africa has been disastrous, from his infamous “shithole” comments to his recent mischaracterization of land reform and white murders
in South Africa. So, too, have his comments on African-Americans, to
which many Africans pay attention. U.S. policy, however, has shown
remarkable continuity with that of previous administrations.
So, Rose Garden pictures and a press conference will likely boost
President Kenyatta’s standing on his home continent and improve
President Trump’s African image. There is media speculation that the
visit will result in a closer economic relationship between the two
countries. Kenya is an important trading partner of the United
States, but that aspect of the bilateral relationship is not as salient
as the security relationship, which is one of Washington’s most
important in Africa.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May is also looking for an expanded economic relationship with Kenya. She will visit Nairobi
and meet with Kenyatta later this week as part of a swing around
Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya. According to British media, she is
looking for enhanced British export possibilities in the aftermath of
Brexit.
Kenyatta’s rehabilitation of himself would appear to have been a
success in the United States and the United Kingdom. However, it should
be noted that Kenya is heavily indebted to China, which owns more than
seventy percent of its debt and is involved in many large infrastructure
projects. This would seem to limit Kenya’s capacity to buy more goods
and services from the United States and the United Kingdom. In fact,
after his meeting with May, Kenyatta is travelling to Beijing for the
Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which has occurred in varying forms
every three years since 2000, and over which President Xi Jinping will
preside.