The United States government of president Barack Obama, through his Secretary of State, have failed miserably to embrace the democratic choice of the people of Kenya. Prior to the Kenyan elections, the US even pronounced that Kenyans would face ‘consequences’ if Kenyatta was elected president. This kind of behavior from a government that is expected to set proper diplomatic and bilateral examples of how to conduct relations with other nations, is simply disgraceful.
It is obvious that Obama’s preferred candidate, Raila Odinga, has been rejected by the Kenyan people, but the same US government that preaches tolerance and democratic values across the globe, seems to be sowing the seeds of discord in a country that has had its own share of brutal ethnic violence that saw hundreds of people lose their lives.
In a message to the Kenyan people, Secretary Kerry failed to mention Uhuru Kenyatta’s name even once. Kenyatta has not been convicted of any crimes to warrant such behaviuor from the United States administration. It seems the philosophy of the United States that one is innocent until proven guilty, is only applicable in matters of political and diplomatic convenience around its own interests.
There is a tendency that the United States’ influence in the region will wane if it continues to interfere in the democratic process, and in this case, blatantly exposing its arrogance by indirectly disclosing its preferred choice for president of Kenya.
Kenyatta has shown restraint and humility in the face of continued barrage in the media, with news organisations like the New York Times and the Huffington Post referring to him using words like ‘war criminal’ in their editorial headlines. Fermenting chaos and confusion in a country that is still yet to recover from the pain and trauma of the last election, is indeed a nasty precedence of reckless journalism, and lack of editorial prudence on the part of the west’s media.
The scripted agenda of the international media is never too far-off from the foreign policies of the west. Most times. the language used by the western media resonate directly with statements often made by government officials in pursuing their own national interests.
The US government may have gone too far in attempting to install a puppet regime in Kenya, and no matter what the diplomatic tone it takes now, Uhuru Kenyatta is Kenya’s new president, and it seems they may have no choice but to negotiate an inevitable relationship that will be crucial if the US is to sustain and safeguard its interests in the region, as Kenya has become an important player in the politics of not only the world’s economy, but in the region as well.
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