EXCLUSIVE: A day out with US Ambassador Robert Gordec

Away from the heavily guarded fortress that is the US Embassy in Nairobi – one of the largest and most important diplomatic outposts in Africa – Ambassador Robert Godec is a laid back, highly social man with an unbridled love for the ordinary Kenyan.

His best days are when he is out in the countryside meeting people whose lives are being transformed by the more than 30 US-backed agencies running programmes in health, agriculture, education, security and democracy.

Last week, the US embassy granted our team a rare chance to accompany the envoy in his tour of Nyanza. We ate with him on the same table, rode in his armoured limousine and stayed by his side as he danced with rural folk.

Hard bargain

We also witnessed as he bargained and bought a tin of sweet potatoes at Kabondo in Homa Bay County.

"My wife is a good cook. She will prepare this for breakfast," he said happily as he gave the trader Sh800 for a tin that goes for Sh250.

Clad simply in a shirt, khaki trousers and hiking boots, the 16th American ambassador to Kenya freely mingles with locals, throwing in Swahili phrases to boost his interaction.

The 61-year-old blends easily with the youth, fist-thumping them in salutations. This works to charm the crowds which love him back as much.

But his no-holds-barred interaction with the people is a nightmare for his security detail. As soon as the door to his heavy armored limousine flings open, he shoots out into the crowd, joining them in a dance or small talk.

“I love to come out here and meet the people, Kenyans are very welcoming. I also see firsthand the impact of our projects on the people,” he tells me during a 12-hour expedition of Nyanza.

His undying love for indigenous foods and fruits is known to the team he travels with. He chats with the women selling sweet potatoes in Oyugis, taking time for a picture with them.

This may be his last tour of the region -- a new envoy has been posted to Nairobi. But Godec, the longest serving US ambassador to Kenya, says he will always find a way back into the country because “Kenya holds a special place in my heart. I love it here; the people are phenomenally welcoming and warm.”

He describes his tour of duty to Kenya as “a great privilege of my life”. His time, he says, was used to preside over healthy diplomatic relations that saw progress in healthcare, education, agriculture, trade, investment, security and governance in Kenya.

Godec is a busy man. Representing the world’s most powerful leader demands nothing less. When his main challenges as ambassador – insecurity and political instability – are not giving him sleepless nights, he spends seven hours in bed.

Early day

His day starts early with a routine workout that includes a gym session or a jog. This energises him for a heavy schedule sometimes dominated by meetings and emails and phone calls to Washington.

He is usually in the office by 8am and goes over his schedule with a team of about seven advisers. When his diary involves visiting a region, the morning meeting includes an officer with a great understanding of the region’s cultural history, socio-politics, demographics and geography.

What his day in office looks like however depends on a lot, including the calendar of events. Some activities are slotted into his schedule up to five months in advance, but are subject to periodic review depending on new developments.

“I do not have a typical day in office, there is a lot that goes into determining that. There are 31 US agencies whose work I coordinate. But most importantly, I represent the interest of the US Government here and that means the embassy must listen to and observe the on-goings, analyse it and report to Washington,” he says.

“Our relationship is a dense, intricate web of social, cultural, economic and political ties. These connections affect everything the US and Kenya do together,” he says.

And so his work entails promoting open, free and fair elections, transparency in management of public affairs, good governance and human rights.

By lunch time, he has had so much to do that once in a while he has to go for a jog to unwind and freshen up for the afternoon. Two of his personal guards go on the run with him.

“Exercise is my form of meditation; the job can be draining and a morning or evening run helps me keep fit both physically and mentally. Once in a while, I go hiking with my friends," he says.

He is also an avid reader and reads a wide range of genres and publications for pleasure. “Getting immersed in an interesting book can be very therapeutic,” he remarks.

Godec prides himself in having made the historic visit by former US President Barrack Obama – the first sitting US president to visit the country – in July 2015 a success. This he describes as one of the highlights of his six-year career at the helm of coordinating US affairs in the country.

The visit, he says, strengthened bilateral ties between Kenya and the US, improving trade between the two countries by more than 300 per cent.

Although widely criticised for political bias at the height of the NASA-Jubilee stand off, Mr Godec’s name featured prominently as one of those who worked behind-the-scenes to reconcile President Uhuru Kenyatta and Opposition leader Raila Odinga following the controversial August 8 election.

Insecurity and political instability, he says, have been his greatest headache. He was in the country as economic counselor at the US embassy in 1998 when it was bombed. He had served eight months as the ambassador during the Westgate mall terror attack in September 2013. He has had to deal with subsequent acts of terror including the Garissa University attack.

He describes graft as the cancer eating the country’s growth and development ambitions.

“Corruption has become a severe cancer that has slowed economic growth in Kenya, so every person has got an obligation to fight it at every level, both in the counties and the national government,” he said.