Obama toasts to new US-Africa relations in largest leaders dinner

US President Barack Obama’s meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta at the White House may not have been exclusive, as other African leaders also posed with America’s First Family, but it did have a huge political symbolism.

It was clearly a public relations coup for Uhuru after the “choices have consequences” declaration a month to the Kenyan polls last year by a top US official. That remark was interpreted as a caution against electing Uhuru and his deputy William Ruto, while the pair faced International Criminal Court trials.

The photograph of a smiling Uhuru with Obama to his right and Michelle to his left in the Blue Room of the White House perhaps highlighted diplomatic rapprochement between America’s first black president and Uhuru, the leader of his father’s ancestral land.

That arms-length relationship was further bolstered when Obama skipped Kenya, the home of his father, during an extensive tour of Africa. Uhuru’s presence among 50 African leaders invited to the US-Africa Summit is seen as Obama’s signal that Kenya is not a pariah State.

On Tuesday night, Obama hosted Uhuru and the African leaders for dinner - the biggest congregation of heads of State and governments at the White House. Earlier Uhuru arrived at the White House to a warm military reception complete with a ceremonial salute extended to all visiting heads of states and governments at about 7.25pm US time (3.25am local time).

Top security officials accorded his motorcade a VIP escort as it pulled up at the North Portico Gate for clearance. The President’s convoy then snaked through the lawns of White House with two lines of ceremonial America soldiers clutching rifles and saluting as he was driven in.

He disembarked from his diplomatic limousine right in front of the White House where he was received by Peter Selfridge, the Chief of Protocol who greeted him at the steps of the red carpet reception leading to the world’s most powerful office.

After receiving Uhuru, Selfridge walked him a few steps before asking him to turn around and salute a battery of journalists.

But unlike some of his colleagues, Uhuru was unaccompanied by the First Lady Margaret Kenyatta at the official reception. At the reception, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame stole the show when he arrived with his daughter who towered above him in height.

The next president who arrived and left dozens of photographers with smiles on their faces as they clicked away images was Cameroon’s Paul Biya with his fashion-loving wife Chantal. Her hairstyle had captured news headlines with the respected Washington Post announcing sarcastically, “The first lady of Cameroon and her hair have touched down.”

Uhuru, wearing a black suit with matching shoes, a white shirt and a blue tie then waved at cameras and bowed before being ushered in for the dinner Obama and Michelle had prepared.

It was the closest the Jubilee leadership was interacting with the US leadership and top diplomats of the administration after Washington said it would maintain only essential contacts with Kenyan leaders facing charges of crimes against humanity at the ICC. Last week, the director for Africa studies at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jennifer Cooke, challenged the Obama administration to review its policy and relations with Kenya arguing that the ICC cases appeared to be flopping.

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed described Kenya’s relations with Washington as “very complex but which can be made better” in an interview with The Standard.

Earlier, Uhuru jointly with IGAD leaders met Secretary of State John Kerry together with President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Ismail Omar Guelle (Djibouti) and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. They discussed the situation in South Sudan and agreed that the war between Riek Machar and Salva Kiir followers must end.

Said Kerry at the meeting: “It is a pleasure to be here with Presidents of Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti and the PM of Ethiopia.”

At the White House Obama opened dinner with a toast to the “new Africa”. The guest list showed about 400 visitors were treated to the dinner and his remarks were under five minutes.