Is Unity of Kenyans in the Diaspora an Illusion?

President William Ruto addressing Kenyans in Washington, DC on December 15, 2022

For those of you not able to go behind the paywall to access my weekly column in the Star, here it is in its entirety:
In his recently concluded visit to the United States where he attended the African Leaders Summit, President William Ruto made time to meet and address the Kenyan diaspora in Washington.

Although the meeting was not as long and interactive with the president as its organizers had hoped, it was nonetheless a successful one in that the president continued to showcase his commitment to improving diaspora access and participation in government affairs.

For those who have been in the diaspora in my case more than 3 decades and counting, there is a phenomenon we have witnessed that has remained constant regardless of who we have as president and that is, the remarkable ability of Kenyans in the diaspora to be dependably disjointed.

A myriad of organizations and groups have been formed over the years and some continue to spring up all purporting to do something about uniting Kenyans in the diaspora or creating an avenue to channel and pursue common interests.

However, no sooner are these groups formed than they quickly disintegrate to the same old broken tools incapable of doing anything or being effective in any way in what they purport or claim to do courtesy of an ever-present distrust, jealousy, and tribalism.

When the president’s visit was announced, Ambassador Lazarus Amayo impaneled a group of close to 100 members who were to deliberate and organize President Ruto’s side-bar meeting with the Kenyan diaspora in Washington, DC on December 15. The group was headed by Prof. Charles Choti of Maryland, assisted by Prof. Peter Ndiang’gui of Florida.

What was unique about the group is much as there was some resistance by some who would have preferred it to be otherwise, the group remained and carried out its responsibilities as a non-partisan group much as the president wanted it to be.

The mission being accomplished, the group’s admin Samuel Cheraisi closed it down, and thereafter a postmortem meeting was held to take in the pros and cons of the successful presidential event as well as decide the fate of the group going forward.

While the latter bit was not resolved and remains pending, a few things can be said about the Kenya diaspora in my view–and I believe most of you reading this will agree.

In just the few months President Ruto has been in office, he has done more for the Kenya diaspora than any president before him. The president has also shown a commitment to work with the diaspora and help actualize her potential unlike any president before him and we are confident this shall come to pass.

The only enemy we must look out for and guard against are the same ones that have crippled and torpedoed similar efforts and these are distrust, jealousy, and tribalism.

In his speech to Kenyans in Washington, the president said the most important thing that happened in the 2022 elections is Kenyans voted on issues for the first time and, even more importantly, they were not herded to the polls and voted along tribal lines.

“We extinguished the flames of ethnicity in our country,” Ruto declared.

Let us hope and pray that was the case and remains so infinitely.

If it is and it applies in the diaspora context, then what the diaspora must contend and still deal with is distrust and jealousy. Distrust is largely brought about by individuals who consistently and tirelessly create brief-case organizations or even some that are legitimate only to advance their individual, self-serving pursuits, and nothing else.

Jealousy, there is nothing much that can be done with as it’s a human complex born of character traits one can hardly change of those possessed with it. Fortunately, those who would try and defeat noble ideals or objectives on account of jealousy are often outnumbered by those who do not or would not.

Given this dynamic, and for the president to further advance his commendable embrace and accommodation of the diaspora, it would be more effective to establish a constitutional commission that can serve as the umbrella diaspora leadership vehicle through which coordination can be had with the State Department of Diaspora Affairs, headed by PS Roseline Njogu.

If budget is a concern, there are many such commissions that exist but serve absolutely no purpose that the president can nix and allocate their budgets to this one. Establishing the commission will provide a for the government to more effectively engage with the Kenyan diaspora in the development of the country and to address some of their issues that are the province of the government, such as easy and more convenient access to consular services, addressing labor issues that adversely affect Kenyans and so on.

 

Update on African Leaders’ Summit in Washington, DC

President William Ruto during a meeting with a team from Google led by VP for Technology and Society James Manyika in Washington, US. Image: PCS

More than eight years ago, President Barack Obama convened the U.S. Africa Leader’s Summit, the first of its kind and the first Kenyan American president stood before dozens of African leaders and made these promises: “We are here not just to talk. We are here to take action,” he said, promising “tangible steps to deliver more prosperity, more security, and more justice to our citizens.”

The summit, it was hoped, would jump-start stronger ties between the United States and Africa. Fast-forward eight years later: Biden is hosting a sequel, and “he is likely to give very similar remarks,” according to observers.

However, the situation in Africa has only grown direr, with global crises such as Covid-19, climate change, and the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine all hitting the continent even harder than all other regions. And after four years of the nightmare that was and remains Donald Trump who at best neglected the continent and at worst denigrated it, “this summit is something of a Hail Mary pass to improve relations,” says another African political observer.

Just one day into the summit, the administration has pledged:

— $55 billion in economic aid to African countries over the next three years;

— the appointment of a new special representative for U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit Implementation;

— and U.S. support for a permanent G-20 seat for the African Union.

”This summit can’t be a three-day event, and then we all return back to business,” a senior Biden administration official Politico last night. “The summit is a launching pad for our engagement with Africa, and it’s a testament to how important the president views the continent.”

Biden is set to deliver remarks to the summit today and Thursday, and he and first lady Jill Biden will host the delegation heads for dinner tonight at the White House.

Meanwhile, our own President William Ruto is busy during the summit juggling critical side-bar meetings with other African leaders and American business leaders. One such meeting was with tech giant Google where the president met with its Senior Vice President for Technology and Society James Manyika.

The president announced after this meeting that the government will partner with Google in his vision to digitize more than 80 percent of government services.

The President noted that they had already agreed on areas of collaboration, adding that Google appreciates Kenya’s potential in utilizing the digital space.

“We commend Google for establishing a product development center in Kenya that will coordinate its activities within Kenya and the Africa Region,” Ruto said.

“This is an appreciation of the potential of the digital space and Kenya’s skilled human capital.”

When he addressed the nation on Monday during Jamhuri Day celebrations, the president reaffirmed the government’s commitment to digitize all its services.

Ruto announced that his administration plans to build 100,000 kilometers of superhighway of internet across cities, towns and across the country to make this a reality. Only 15 percent of government services were being offered digitally.

“It will soon be possible for Kenyans to access government services from the comfort of their homes using the internet,” the president said.

This side-bar meeting in Washington with Google brings that vision closer to reality.

The president is poised to meet with the Kenyan diaspora in Washington tomorrow and that, too, is an important meeting building on the great things the president has already done or committed to address diaspora issues and make it possible for the diaspora to engage and participate in our country’s development more effectively.

The good times are about here!

 

 

 

Why Ahmed Rashid Should Be Pardoned

 

Kenya Diaspora in Washington Upbeat About Ruto’s Upcoming Visit

President William Ruto is expected to travel to Washington DC for the Africa Leaders’ Summit scheduled for December 13-15.

In his second visit to the US as President, Ruto is expected to meet his American counterpart Joe Biden and the Kenyan diaspora.

According to the State Department, the summit will demonstrate America’s “enduring commitment to Africa”, and underscore the importance of US-Africa relations.

Ahead of the visit, sources told the Star the President has tasked Ambassador to the US Lazarus Amayo to help organize a meeting with the diaspora.

“It is a wise move for the President to reach out to the Kenyan diaspora. No other President before him has done what he is doing,” Prof Charles Choti, who is leading the team put together by Ambassador Amayo to organize the side-bar meeting with the President, said.

Choti was referring to the promises President Ruto made during his visit to the US during the campaigns in March 2022 and his earlier virtual conversation with the diaspora.

In the virtual meeting, Ruto promised to establish a state department for Diaspora Affairs under the Foreign Affairs docket, if he won the election, which he has fulfilled and nominated Roseline Njogu as the principal secretary.

Choti said Ruto’s elevation of diaspora affairs directorate to a department in the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Ministry has Kenyans in diaspora believing the President has kept his word and will do more, “even if diaspora affairs is not a stand-alone ministry”.

“Elevating the status of diaspora affairs and the appointment of a principal secretary responsible for the office for the first time since independence is huge,” Choti said, adding that they can’t wait to welcome and host the President to “further strengthen our new-found engagement”. 

Ruto’s meeting with the diaspora in Washington follows that of Foreign Affairs CS Alfred Mutua on November 17.

During the meeting in Seattle, CS Mutua said the Kenya Kwanza government will enact changes that will change their lives positively.

“We plan, in time, to open more consulates in the US. One for the Midwest either in Chicago or Minneapolis, in the South either in Dallas or Atlanta, and one in the Northwest in Seattle. We’ll also have mobile biometric kits to process passports, Huduma Namba and IDs in the US,”Mutua said.

The CS said the missions will also offer trade and investment services for the diaspora to invest in Kenya and take advantage of the PPP programs, affordable housing ventures and other projects in the country.

One of the Kenyans living in Washington DC said while Ambassador Amayo was  putting together a team to organise the side-bar meeting, he reminded them Ruto is the president for all Kenyans, “whether they voted for him or not”.

“This is a non-partisan event where all Kenyans are welcome,” the ambassador is quoted as saying.

There is talk of divisions among diaspora in the US, which is blamed, for instance, for the collapse of the Kenya Diaspora Initiative. 

Prof Peter Ndiang’ui observed that previous governments have tried to embrace the diaspora, but the efforts have only been mostly at policy level with little or no corresponding action to implement those policies.

“This should change as we have already seen with the President’s actions thus far with more expected to finally harness the diaspora’s full potential,” Ndiang’ui, one of the committee members, said.

Samuel Omwenga, a US-based legal and political analyst, said, while every new president faces the challenge of reconciling the need to recognize and reward those who were in the trenches with him during the campaign while expanding his support base, Ruto has demonstrated thus far he can succeed in accomplishing this both at home and in the diaspora.

During his visit to South Korea last week, President Ruto met Kenyans living in Seoul and in response to one of the questions, the President said the international trips are to engage with foreign governments as well as with Kenyans living in the countries to advance his development agenda for the country.

In Seoul, for instance, he said bilateral talks would focus on securing markets for Kenyan products.

According to the Central Bank of Kenya, diaspora remittances rose to Sh40.6 billion in October, a 4.6 percent rise compared to Sh38.8 billion in September.

The US remains the largest source of remittances, accounting for 57.6 percent in the period.

The President’s efforts to have a more united Kenyan diaspora and addressing their issues should lead to more engagement with these Kenyans and more remittances which benefits the remitters, their families, and the country, Omwenga noted.

“The approach Ruto is taking with the diaspora is well thought out and will win him points and support, even among those who did not support him in 2022,” said Omwenga. 

Kenyans in Washington Upbeat About Ruto’s Visit