Special ‘digital’ desk in OP cannot adequately address diaspora issues

By Chris Wamalwa

Some of my friends in the US who are keen on diaspora participation in the affairs of Kenya are livid that President Uhuru Kenyatta doesn’t seem to take their concerns seriously.  They are viewing President Kenyatta’s recent lumping of diaspora issues with an obscure unit dubbed Digital, New Media and Diaspora, which he created in the Office of the President, as a lack of understanding of the importance of the role of the diaspora. They argue that by doing this, the President is not only showing total disregard for the contributions the diaspora makes to the development of the country but he is also ignoring their concerns regarding involvement in the affairs of the country.

They are faulting the President for raising their hopes in his recent pronouncements in meetings with the diaspora that he knows, understands and appreciates their contributions and therefore, their wish to be involved in driving the country’s socio-economic and political agenda. My friends are saying that if the President is going to settle for this digital ‘appendage’ when it comes to the diaspora, then he would have completely let down an estimated 3.5 million Kenyans living abroad.

They are saying they had assumed that, by President Kenyatta committing himself to diaspora issues in his speeches abroad upon taking office, he had been briefed of the pending Diaspora Policy that contained their wishes and aspirations, hopes and expectations extensively lobbied and collected over the years and that now only needed Cabinet approval.  This Diaspora Policy recommends nothing short of a full-fledged Department of Diaspora Affairs that is needed to comprehensively handle all aspects of diaspora engagement with their country. They say given their immense contributions to the economy and the challenges they face as immigrants, surely this isn’t too much to ask?

And I totally agree with these sentiments. Personally, I didn’t put too much stock in President Kenyatta’s pledges because I don’t have any reason to believe he holds the diaspora in any regard different from ordinary Kenyans despite the hype that he was himself once a diasporan. The fact that he totally ignored the diaspora during his presidential campaigns and rarely alludes to his diaspora days, gives me the feeling that those days don’t hold any special place in his heart. I could be wrong. And I hope I’m wrong. Having said that, I wonder even as I write this; what is it we in the diaspora expect President Kenyatta to do for us? This is a question we must answer because the whole diaspora issue has tended to confuse people in Kenya more than it has enlightened them about our role, responsibilities and expectations as Kenyans living away from home. Let me explain.

In our interactions with folks back at home, we have tended to exaggerate not just the quality of our daily lives but also our academic achievements and economic status. I realised this last year during the campaign to register Kenyans living abroad as voters. Our folks at home just couldn’t understand what the noise was all about - giving a clear impression that they were not sympathetic to our cause.

The second thing we need to do before we harangue the President is put our house in order. The truth is that given our diversity as a group, self-seeking tendencies and our tribal leanings have always worked against us. Last year, many people from across the ethnic divide were at the front and centre of the clamour for diaspora voting rights.

Since the UhuRuto duet won the election, these people have gone under giving the impression that the diaspora agenda for some is purely sectarian or, to put it more bluntly, tribal. Back to my question. What do we want His Excellency to do for us? Kenyans living abroad must answer this question.