What Uhuru’s UK visit means to Nairobi-London ties

By ABDIKADIR SUGOW     

KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to the United Kingdom has significantly whittled down a diplomatic tiff between Kenya and Britain simmering during the campaign period.

Now it appears the UK and Kenya have agreed to work together again, with President Uhuru attending the Somalia donor conference in London and meeting Prime Minister David Cameron.

Mr Cameron defended the meetings with Uhuru despite his indictment by the International Criminal Court t (ICC). He told BBC he met Uhuru because Kenya was playing a vital role to fight Al-Shabaab in Somalia.

He said President Uhuru assured him he was co-operating with the ICC and in Cameron’s view, he is “innocent until proved guilty”.

Before the elections, the UK said it would have only “essential contact” with Uhuru if he was elected President because he is an ICC indictee.

Some UK media houses, particularly Sky News, had prior to his visit, raised issue why British officials and leaders would meet with a president facing criminal charges at the ICC.

Meeting President Uhuru at Lancaster House, Cameron hailed the strong historic ties between Kenya and the UK.

The PM reiterated the commitment of the British government to further strengthen relations with Kenya.

Cameron said UK was particularly keen on enhancing trade and investment between the two countries.

Significant contribution

British Foreign Secretary William Hague also met Uhuru and discussed Kenya’s significant contribution to Somalia. Hague acknowledged Uhuru’s commitment to the judicial process with regards to the ICC.

During the run-up to the March 4 General Election, Britain through the British High Commissioner to Kenya, Dr Christian Turner, had stated it would only have “essential contacts” with Uhuru if he was elected president.

The British government’s position was based on the presumption that Uhuru is on trial as a suspect at the ICC over crimes against humanity related to the 2008 post-election violence alongside Deputy President William Ruto.

Uhuru met Dr Turner three weeks after his inauguration on April 9, in what could have been discomfort with the UK stand.

However, the British High Commissioner finally delivered Cameron’s message as Uhuru agreed to travel to London for the Somalia conference where an estimated 50 countries were present.

The London trip was Uhuru’s first visit to Europe, apart from travelling to The Hague, since he was charged with crimes against humanity by the ICC in December 2010.

The British High Commissioner insists the close relations his country has with Kenya would continue, noting the British Army has spent Sh1.7 billion on infrastructure and injects Sh3.3 billion into the economy annually.

Uhuru’s trial is due to start on July 9. The European Union (EU), the United States, and the United Nations had a policy of not meeting ICC indictees except on “essential” matters.

The UN has now changed its policy to only restrict contacts with indictees who are not co-operating with the ICC. EU countries have also softened their definition of “essential contacts” with the ICC indictees. During the campaigns, Uhuru’s Jubilee coalition accused Britain and the EU of supporting Raila Odinga for the presidency.

The US and EU countries did not congratulate Uhuru after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) declared him winner on March 9, only doing so after the Supreme Court confirmed his victory on March 30.

However, during the talks with Turner, President Uhuru said he looks forward to deepening the relations for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

He said his Government is open and willing to work with other countries on the basis of mutual respect and within the principle of reciprocity.

He reaffirmed his government’s commitment to continue partnering with UK in development process and looks forward to continued support from Britain to mobilise resources internationally.

The British High Commission Head of Communications John Bradshaw told The Standard on Sunday that the British government was committed to its relations with the Kenyan government and supports British interests in Kenya.

“Our goal is to build a more stable and prosperous Kenya. Britain is committed to a dynamic and mutually beneficial relationship with Kenya. We have a shared history, enduring friendship and vital political, economic, commercial and cultural interests that we develop and maintain,” he added.

Development

Bradshaw said Kenya has the largest, most diverse economy in East Africa, noting that about 25 per cent of Kenyans do not have enough income to meet their basic food needs. Progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is patchy.

The British government’s development aid agency, DfID has funded 64 projects in Kenya worth billions of shillings focusing on improving maternal and reproductive health, accelerating the fight against malaria, increasing school access and the quality of education and reducing vulnerability and malnutrition among Kenya’s most disadvantaged groups.

DfID is also involved in supporting refugees, improving governance and accountability, catalysing private sector growth to create more jobs for young people, and helping Kenya develop green energy and adapt to a changing climate.

“We help deliver quality health services to poor people in Kenya, increasing access to family planning services for over 700,000 women, assisting 15,000 mothers to give birth with support from a skilled birth attendant, distributing 5.2 million bed-nets to pregnant women and children to help prevent malaria, and distributing 173.5 million condoms,” Bradshaw notes.

Britain is also helping 830,000 of the poorest and most vulnerable people through small, regular cash payments, and influencing the national social protection agenda by supporting the Kenyan government to develop its own sustainable welfare system and helping children and women to withstand and recover from malnutrition.

Through DfID, Britain aims to create 250,000 jobs (a third for women) by 2015, focusing on making financial services more accessible to poor people, improving trade and transport, opening up markets for poor people, and helping deregulate the business environment.

Britain says it is also helping deliver free, fair and safe Kenyan elections through credible voter registration, domestic observation, results transmission, police reforms and conflict prevention, government’s accountability to its citizens through support to civil society groups providing technical support to Kenya’s transition to devolved county government.

The British Army has significant presence in Kenya, where it conducts training and military exercises, some of them jointly with Kenyan soldiers.