Mereja Forum

[Abe Abraham]

Biden Welcomes Kenya's Uhuru Kenyatta to the White House


Colm Quinn


Here is today’s Foreign Policy brief: Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta visits the White House, ......


Biden Welcomes Kenyatta to the White House

U.S. President Joe Biden hosts his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta, today in Washington. Kenyatta is the first African leader to meet with Biden at the White House since he became president.

The two are expected to discuss a range of issues, from economics and security to climate change and human rights.


A White House statement describing the meeting as a chance for Biden and Kenyatta to discuss the “need to bring transparency and accountability to domestic and international financial systems” comes in the wake of Pandora Papers revelations that Kenyatta and six of his family members were linked to millions of dollars in secret offshore investments.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki deflected the issue when asked in a Wednesday briefing about the incongruity, saying the revelations wouldn’t stand in the way of today’s discussions.

Kenyatta himself has denied any impropriety, reminding reporters that his name did not appear in the leak and promising to address the issue when he returns home. Kenyatta gave his remarks in New York following a U.N. Security Council meeting, where Kenya currently holds the rotating presidency.

U.S. interests in Kenya go deep. The country is the fifth largest U.S. aid recipient, getting roughly $544 million in aid in 2020. Although most of that spending funds economic and health programs, Kenya has also been a target of U.S. military aid: From 2010 to 2020, the United States spent approximately $400 million training and equipping Kenya’s military to deal with the threat of Islamist militant group al-Shabab, despite corruption and human rights concerns surrounding Kenya’s security forces.

Biden will hope to lean on Kenya’s regional leadership to influence the ongoing Tigray conflict in Ethiopia. Government forces launched a fresh offensive against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front earlier this week, officially shredding a poorly enforced cease-fire.


Biden has even threatened to remove Ethiopia’s trade privileges under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) over alleged human rights violations during the fighting, a position the Ethiopian government fiercely opposes.

Rethinking Africa policy. The meeting comes as the Biden administration seeks to refocus its efforts on Africa. As FP’s Robbie Gramer reported on Oct. 5, Judd Devermont’s appointment as special advisor for Africa strategy on the National Security Council is meant to kick-start the administration’s approach to the continent, with a new strategy set to be revealed by next spring.

A political triangle. Although this will be the third president Kenyatta has met at the White House, it’s likely to be his last visit as term limits prevent him from running in elections in 2022. Kenyatta’s challenger in the 2017 election, Raila Odinga, is expected to run for a fifth time, this time with the likely endorsement of Kenyatta. The about-turn in Kenyatta’s thinking comes at the expense of Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto, previously Kenyatta’s chosen successor.

[Temt]

It probably is a desperate attempt of the Biden Administration to establish its hegemonistic presence in the greater Horn region. But he won't be succeeding without the participation of Eritrea and Ethiopia as the "Tigray war" affects them most.

[Horus]

ሰዶ ማሳደድ ካማረህ ዶሮህን በቆቅ ለውጣት ይላል ያገሬ ሰው። አሜሪካ በቀጥታ ከኢትዮጵያ ጋር መናገር የሚያስችለውን ግንኙነት ካጨማለቀ በኋላ አሁን ዙሪያ ጥምጥም ኡሁሩ ወይ ኦባሳንጆ ቢል ትርፉ ግዜውን ማባከን ነው ። አሜሪካ የማይታመን ዝርክርክ ዝሆን ከሆነ ቆየ፤ ነገሩ ዝሆን ሲከሳና ሃብታም ሲፈሳ (ሲከስር) አይታወቅም ሆኖ ነው እንጂ!