Ruto is justified to 'look West' and 'East' at the same time

President William Ruto and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping inspect a guard of honor at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on April 24, 2025. [PCS]

At a time like this last year, what was on everyone’s lips was President William Ruto’s impending visit to the US. There was an excitement about it in the corridors of power. Some overzealous government mandarins even suggested that the much-publicised state visit was a testament that Kenya was the ‘prefect’ of Africa. At that time, there was muted anti-China rhetoric in Nairobi.

A year later and with the change of guard in Washington, DC, the 2025/26 budget making process underway and the country staring at yet another huge deficit, the President scrambled a team and flew to Beijing with a begging bowl in hand.

These two contrasting events, unfolding barely months apart, raises questions about our foreign policy. In the post-World War II era, Kenya, like many countries in the Global South, postured as a member of the Non-Aligned Movement. But in practice, we were always the blue-eyed boy of the West. We rejected anything and everything East including our returning young scholars who had been educated in Eastern Europe through the Jaramogi Oginga-led Eastern Socialist Airlift. Whilst their American Airlift counterparts returned to become elites in the neo-colonial Kenyan politics, this lot were targeted and hounded and never had a chance to participate meaningfully in nation building.

That was then. Today, multi-polarity is the reality of global diplomacy. The world has moved from an era dominated by the United States as the unchallenged global power. We are witnessing the rise of multiple global superpowers as well as middle and emerging powers; perhaps an indication that the post-American primacy predicted over a decade ago by the likes of Fareed Zachariah might well be with us already. We have, for instance, witnessed the diminishing role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), with the EU, now led by Germany, finding military options outside of the NATO arrangement.  The building of the EU battlegroup is one such example.

With the perception of America’s singular dominance fading, countries find themselves in a challenging but interesting area of global diplomacy. Many now embrace “the multi-aligned” philosophy, and Kenya is no exception. This is where countries work with others that are not necessarily allies in pursuit of strategic national interests. Combating global challenges like climate change, rising extremism, and global health crises require international order and collaboration that the US has proven unable to help lead.

Back to the President’s visit to China. Not so long ago, there were fears that Kenya could default on loan repayment. Around the same time, the financial arranger for Eurobond liquidated his risk exposure by 50 per cent. The situation obtaining at home then was very much similar to the one in Ghana before they defaulted.

So, with debt obligations falling due, coupled with diminishing revenue collections and a populace that is restless and hungry for service delivery, we must grapple with robbing Peter to pay Paul. Getting concessional loans instead of syndicated loans is part of the many small steps, but steps nonetheless in the right direction, for a government that is struggling to offer services.

The other reality on the world stage is that Kenya is still viewed as a favourite in many of the world’s capitals. This interest in Kenya certainly stems from the value proposition that the country offers; high literacy levels, good weather, Nairobi being a financial hub, and our strategic location within the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa.

With the collapse of multilateralism, I hope that the emerging multi-aligned approach to diplomacy will make us more assertive on the world stage and self-aware in multi-lateral engagements. Viewing Africa in general and Kenya in particular as an extraction open field must stop. Most western nations have approached Africa with the attitude of a patron at whose feet we should prostrate ourselves. The emerging civic consciousness in Africa should help us punish leaders who are just too eager to replace one patron with another.

Mr Kidi is the convener of Inter-Parties Youth Forum. [email protected]