Kerry seeks to patch up US relations with Kenya
Secretary stresses need for united fight vs. terrorism
JOHANNESBURG — Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday sought to rebuild America’s frayed relationship with Kenya, which went into decline after the 2013 election of a president who had been charged in the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity.
Kerry met with President Uhuru Kenyatta to discuss counterterrorism efforts and security cooperation. He also met with opposition leaders and laid a wreath at a memorial to those who died in the 1998 al-Qaida bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.
When the court dropped charges against Kenyatta last year, prosecutors cited Kenyan authorities’ refusal to cooperate. Despite those complaints, Washington has sought since then to rebuild relations with its most important ally in the war against terror in East Africa. Deputy President William Ruto still faces charges of crimes against humanity at the court.
Kerry’s meetings pave the way for a visit by President Barack Obama in July, his first to Kenya since becoming president. Kerry is the first high-level U.S. official to visit the country since his predecessor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, came in 2012.
A year later, Kenyatta and Ruto were elected after the top U.S. diplomat on Africa at the time, Johnnie Carson, warned that the selection of two men charged by the international court would “have consequences.”
Kenya has seen two major terror attacks by alShabab, Islamist extremists from neighboring Somalia: the Westgate shopping mall attack in 2013, which killed 67 people, and last month’s attack on the Garissa University College, which killed 148 people.
Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said Sunday that the Kenyans were seeking stronger support from the U.S. to contain the threat from al-Shabab.
Despite the tensions, Kenya receives around $1 billion in U.S. aid annually, much of it security assistance. Kerry signaled Monday that American counterterrorism support and cooperation would continue, as he offered condolences to the families of terror victims.
While al-Shabab has been weakened in Somalia after U.S. drone strikes killed several leaders, it has gained strength in Kenya.
“The terrorists who struck on Aug. 7, 1998, failed utterly in their purpose, which was to implant fear in the hearts of the Kenyan people and to divide America from the citizens of this country,” Kerry said of the embassy attack. He added, “We know that the struggle in which we are all engaged now is not going to be over soon.”
Critics have complained that Kenya’s approach to security often involves abuse of human rights and harassment of ethnic Somalis. The government re- cently threatened to close within three months the Dadaab refugee camp, home to some 400,000 displaced Somalis.
Kerry announced Monday that the U.S. would provide an additional $45 million to help the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees provide better school, health clinics and clean drinking water to the refugees.
The U.S. has tried to pin its policies in Africa to democratic development and respect for human rights, including the rights of gays and lesbians, a controversial issue in Africa, where deeply conservative church and traditional leaders bitterly oppose homosexuality. Kerry’s visit came after Ruto told a church service Sunday that there was no place for homosexuality in Africa.
“We would stand with religious leaders to defend our faith and our beliefs. We would not allow homosexuality in our nation, as it violates our religious and cultural beliefs,” Ruto said. “There is no room for homosexuality in our society. Be assured of that.”
Early last week, Kenya’s High Court ordered the attorney general to register a gay and lesbian organization that had earlier been denied registration.