By Oscar Obonyo

President Barack Obama’s administration could deploy its clout to force Kenya to hasten constitutional reforms.

For the second time on Saturday, the US Ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, told The Standard on Sunday various options are available, including travel bans.

His statement reinforced another this month by Obama’s official emissary to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Johnnie Carson, who made it clear his brief was to “warn a friend” America could soon “flex its muscles.” Ranneberger spoke against the backdrop of a closed-door meeting between Obama and Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete. It is believed Kenya’s troubled coalition and the gradual loss of grip by the weak-kneed Somali government featured at the meeting.

A secure Kenya is viewed by America and the European Union as guaranteed vanguard against the spill over of terrorism from lawless Somalia.

The turn of events, coming at a time the local economy and political fabric are tattered, rekindle memories of the first months of last year, when then US President George Bush sent messages to Kibaki and Raila that power sharing was not a matter of personal preference but inevitable.

Again like it is today one man, who played a big role in breaking the ice between Kibaki and Raila, was in the loop – President Kikwete who had just been crowned the African Union chairman. Bush flew into Tanzania – and it is after they met that Kikwete crossed over to Kenya with a message now believed to have been choosing between power sharing and dispatch of United Nations peacekeepers.

At the time, before Bush landed and with Kibaki having named a half-Cabinet with Kalonzo Musyoka as Vice-President, the VP flew to Tanzania to meet Kikwete.

   [ Enlarge ]

   President Obama Meets President Jakaya Kikwete and Sec. of State Hillary Clinton in The Oval Office

This round again Kalonzo left the funeral of Water Minister Charity Ngilu’s mother, saying he was flying to Tanzania to meet Kikwete. While there, his press service as well as the Tanzanian Press, curiously did not mention he had had closely-guarded talks with Kikwete, who was about to travel to the US. It is the journey that made him the first African leader to meet Obama as President.

As Kenya was told by Rannerberger, Obama would not set foot here, despite this being his ancestral roots, because of political disorder and jolt to the reform process.

Meanwhile, Ghana was celebrating Obama’s decision to choose her as his first stop as the President of the world’s only superpower.

In what our sources described as a “critical encounter,” Kalonzo met Kikwete on May 15.

According to a report filed from Washington in Saturday’s Daily News of Tanzania, Kikwete and Obama discussed Kenya’s political situation and “other trouble regions of Darfur, DRC and Somalia.”

Raila’s one-week tour

The details of the discussions were however scanty, but given the stand US ambassador in Kenya has taken on the confusion in the Grand Coalition, and the slow pace of reforms, and with Kikwete’s perceived ?expertise’ on Kenya’s affairs, it cannot be ruled out the issues raised by Rannerberger featured.

Asked what was discussed by the two world leaders on Saturday, the ambassador, who has adopted grassroots-based healing and reconciliation effort among communities scarred by post-election violence, said he did not know.

Interestingly, Kikwete’s visit to the US also coincided with that of Raila’s one-week tour of the superpower nation, where a few weeks ago, his wife Ida, met Mrs Michelle Obama.

Raila’s team was tight-lipped on whether he tried or may even have talked to Obama, or even what Ida discussed with US first black First Lady.

From Tanzania, the regular VPPS dispatches captured events involving Tanzania’s VP, Ali Mohammed Shein.

“The two (Kikwete and Kalonzo) met although no details were divulged and we have been warned against running the story,” an editor of Rai, Tanzania’s weekly political newspaper, confirmed to The Standard on Sunday.

According to the journalist, Kalonzo flew to Dar on Friday, and was met by his Tanzanian counterpart who drove him straight to State House for a meeting with Kikwete.

“Officially, your Vice-President’s host during the two-day trip was Dr Shein and not Kikwete. We could not run this story because State House officials confided to us President Kikwete was sensitive over the Kenyan affair as he did not wish to be seen to favour any side of the political divide,” the editor said in a telephone interview.

Although details of the Kalonzo-Kikwete meeting remain hazy, chances are the encounter was linked to the Obama meeting at the Oval Office on Thursday.

Kalonzo, a former Foreign Affairs Minister, played the same role, flying into African States shortly after the disputed presidential election, to give the PNU account to the international community.

It is not clear whether Raila was also in touch with the Tanzanian leader ahead of his meeting with Obama. The Standard on Sunday also could not establish whether Raila was scheduled to meet Obama, although Kenya’s ambassador to the US, Peter Ogego, said the PM was not expected in Washington.

A fortnight ago Obama warned President Kibaki and PM to ease political tension and fully execute the National Accord as crafted by former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan.

His message, through Carson, was blunt: “The US is ready to take necessary steps should the coalition fail to implement the Annan agreement.”

Tattered economy

The apparent scramble for Kikwete’s attention by local leaders is understandable. The Kenyan situation after all formed part of the agenda of Obama-Kikwete talks.

Obama’s dissatisfaction with the local political leadership comes in the wake of a gloomy Economic Survey report by Planning Minister Wycliffe Oparanya. With a just 1.7 per cent growth, Kenya’s economy is no better than warring Somalia’s 2.6 per cent.

And even as the US is increasingly lumps Kenya with failed States in the region, the disturbing aspect of the unfolding drama is the country’s inability to tap and take advantage of the US President’s roots.

The one man, who is running away first with possible political and economic advantage from Obama, is Kikwete. Since election as Tanzania’s President in 2006, Kikwete has enjoyed closer ties with the ?Big Brother’. That was the case during the reign of 43rd US President George W Bush.

His country’s clout and fortune have correspondingly risen as Kenya’s plummet.

In mid-2006, for instance, Kenyans reacted angrily when news filtered through that Bush and Kikwete had discussed Kenya, during a bilateral meeting in Washington. Foreign Affairs Minister, Moses Wetangula, then an Assistant Minister, demanded a public apology from the two leaders.

Two years later, Bush flew to Tanzania when the country was burning, from where he issued threats to Kenyans to stop further bloodshed and form a coalition government. Kikwete delivered the message and it worked.

Today, Kikwete still occupies that special and envious place in the eyes of American leadership.

Last Thursday, he met Obama in Washington. When Kikwete invited Obama to Tanzania, which former President Clinton like Bush, visited and snubbed Kenya, the new US leader’s response was more than curious.

“I would like to visit Tanzania. Last time I saw your country from the other side of Serengeti National Park,” he said, referring to his 2006 visit to Kenya.

Then, Kibaki’s spokesman, Alfred Mutua, dismissed Obama as, “a junior Senator from Illinois.” Mutua was reacting to Obama’s assertion corruption is undermining Kenya’s development.

————————————————————————————————————————————————-

————————————————————————————————————————————————-

By Kap Kirwok

Here is a sad truism about our country: Shame is dead. Well, almost. This is not breaking news, I know; but have you noticed that whatever remains of shame is being buried along with humility, integrity and love of country?

Have you noticed the giant twin monuments of greed and impunity we have erected on the graveyards of wisdom and honour?

Greed, impunity, smallness of mind, and indifference to suffering: these are the tenets of what appears to be the fastest growing religion this side of the misery kingdom. It is a gospel practiced by the political apostolate and encouraged by a chorus of hosannas from the power elite and tribal congregations.

Shame and honour are endangered and may soon be extinct. How do we know this?

We know it is when Government officials squander public resources on useless foreign trips at a time the country is in the grip of famine.

We know it when, while the Government declares a “disaster” and begs the world for food, grain reserves are looted for personal gain.

We know it when the findings of an expensive commission set up to investigate the irregular sale of a hotel are ignored and those most culpable rewarded with ministerial positions.

We know that integrity and executive competence are in terminal decline when political cronies in their mid 70s continue to head Government state enterprises when younger, qualified Kenyans are available.

You can tell the depth of shamelessness to which we have sunk when our business and academic elite go to the World Economic Forum to ‘intelligently‘ talk about the ‘State of Africa‘, and return home to promote narrow ethnic interests.

In a recent article, Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai argued the presidency is not to blame for out-of-control corruption and greed. She put the blame on a faulty constitution. Really? Does she really believe that a new constitution is a substitute for leadership integrity and competence? Those with executive power serially ignore the current laws.

Stand against Moi regime

I suspect the good woman was merely doing a complicated tap-dance around the truth. This would be unfortunate. We do not want to associate the illustrious professor with cowardice and political apologetics, would we? After all, it was her fearless stand against Moi’s regime that helped build her reputation as a courageous freedom fighter ? a reputation that was partly responsible for the Nobel Prize.

There was also the curious statement by Michael Ranneberger, the United States ambassador to Kenya, defending Government efforts in fighting corruption.

Later, in the company of other envoys, he appeared to reverse course. Will someone tell the ambassador to please kindly zip-up? Kenyans know the hanky-panky and highly suspect role he played in the 2007 presidential elections and its tragic outcome. Enough of your wisdom sir.

But we cannot be too hard on the ambassador. He is, after all, trying to secure the interests of his country ? however baffling his methods may appear to us. It is up to us to secure our own.

Can anything be done about greed, executive incompetence and impunity?

Some think the answer is in a national conference, ‘The Kenya We Want‘. I have no quarrel with conferences if they are structured to actually achieve tangible results. But I think we have our priorities wrong.

Kenya we want

For a start, if we must have a conference, let it be called “How to Get the Kenya We Want”.

We know what kind of Kenya we want; it is getting it that is the problem. For this reason, I think the conference should have been an internal affair focused on the question: “Can We Advance National Interests through Pursuit of Narrow Ethnic Interests?”

The participants should have been economic and academic elite in general and tribal think-tanks in particular. The sooner we have such a conference the better.

Do we really need foreigners to tell us why Molo Town has no fire engine? We need a frank and open discussion about ethnically-motivated and elite-enabled greed, impunity and executive incompetence. This is the real issue. Why dance around it?

I have a question for the elite (myself included): when we dine and wine in posh clubs and hotels at home and overseas, what do we really think about those horrid pictures of poverty-stricken Kenyans living like wild dogs?

And to the mass media: Thanks for your service to the country, but remember that a steady drumbeat of depressing news soon becomes harmless background noise. New, creative approaches are needed to continuously jolt the nation into shame and action.

Do not allow shame to die.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

———————————————————————————————————————————–

US Ambassador, Mr Michael Ranneberger, said Obama’s win would have tremendous impact on Kenya.

Kenyans have welcomed Senator Barack Obama’s nomination as the Democratic Party candidate for the November US presidential elections.

Proud Grandma: Mama Sarah Obama and one of her grandsons, Mr. Wycliffe Omondi read The Standard at her Kogelo village home, Siaya District, Kenya on Thursday. Mama Sarah is the grandmother of Senator Barack Obama. Picture by Titus Munala.

Congratulatory messages continued to pour to The Standard newsroom from Kisumu, Nairobi, Mombasa, Garissa and even Moyale, with Kenyans wishing the Illinois senator the ultimate victory in the November election.

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga were not left behind. In a statement from Arusha, President Kibaki congratulated Obama, saying the victory was a manifestation of the faith and confidence the Democratic membership had in his leadership.

On his part, Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Obama’s victory was a momentous occasion in history.

“Barack Obama’s success will inspire us all to break the shackles of ethnic preoccupations in determining political leadership,” Raila said in a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Salim Lone.

Obama’s grandmother, Mama Sarah, 86, led villagers of Alego Kogelo, Siaya, where the senator’s father — Barack Obama Senior — was born, in thanking American voters for no,inating her grandchild.

At the home of Obama’s father, relatives, neighbours and students celebrated the triumph, whose campaign now promises to capture the psyche of Kenya in the run up to the presidential elections.

Obama’s Kenyan Kin Celebrate

   Barack Obama speaks to residents of Nairobi’s Kibera area,
   Kenya, in August 2006.

   Obama and Kenyan Grandmother (Mama Sarah)… Earlier Visit

   Kenya Flag

   Obama and Kenyan Relatives … Earlier Visit

Mama Sarah spent most of on Wednesday morning talking on the telephone to her relatives in America, UK and South Africa about Obama’s victory against Mrs. Hillary Clinton in the hotly contested primaries.

“I will travel to America to witness his swearing in because I know he will win. But I will not stay in the country for long,” she said.

Vice-President, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, hailed the victory as historic, saying Obama had won the nomination with dignity.

“Indeed, he may make history as the first American president with African roots,” said Kalonzo in Nairobi.

US Ambassador, Mr Michael Ranneberger, said Obama’s win would have tremendous impact on Kenya.

“Over 350,000 Kenyans live in the US, with another 7,000 traveling there annually, which explains the great interest in the race,” Ranneberger said.

Back at Obama’s father’s home in Siaya, residents basked in international glare as CNN led other international media teams in airing to the world live the joy of the village.

   Barack Obama Jr. / Barack Obama Sr.
CNN was live at Alego Kogelo at 10am, showing villagers holding bottles of ‘Senator’ beer to celebrate the Illinois Senator’s win.

Journalists, armed with sophisticated satellite equipment, began arriving at the sleepy village from as early as 6am on Wednesday.

Many installed their equipment at the home as they waited for permission from the family to interview the senator’s grandmother.

Other international media at the home included BBC, Reuters and Al Jazeera.

However, the media had to wait for more than two hours before they could get access to Mama Sarah, who has become the biggest local celebrity.

The number of people claiming to be related to Obama also increased as the news of his victory filtered into Nyanza.

More ‘relatives’ show up

Mr. Tom Ombaka, a Kisumu businessman, said: “Everyone now claims he or she is a cousin of the senator. I have met more than ten people this morning who tell me they are Obama’s blood relations.”

Amid song and dance, Mama Sarah announced she was preparing for an epic journey to America to witness the swearing in ceremony of her grandson as the country’s first black president.

She said: “I will go there to witness the swearing in ceremony, and to pray for him, his family and the people of America for demonstrating unity and love beyond race and colour by picking a black person to lead them.”

She went on: “I love Africa. I am too old now and America is too cold for me to settle. So I will only be visiting once in a while if I am still alive by God’s will.

“I was highly elated when his sister, Rita Auma Obama, in South Africa phoned me to break the news. I said glory be to God,” she said, beaming with joy as she greeted the journalists.

She quipped: “I know what brings you here this early. But don’t worry, feel welcome. I will attend to your needs,” she said as she ushered in visitors to her compound.

“I had prophesied that Obama would win and my dream has partially come true. I am sure he will also win the final contest, God willing. This is my honest and humble prayers,” she said.

She said of her grandson: “His father loved people, development and education. These are the traits that Obama inherited and I can assure you he will go far.”

At the nearby Senator Barack Obama-Kogello Secondary School, which neighbours Mama Sarah’s home, students danced, sang and shouted: “Obama Juu! Obama Juu!”

The school principal, Ms Yunita Obiero, said she announced the good news to the students at assembly in the morning after hearing of Obama’s victory on BBC’s Swahili Service radio.

In Nairobi, ODM congratulated Obama for clinching the Democratic presidential nominations. Secretary-General, Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, said the primaries were free and fair and Obama won convincingly.

“His global leadership is cut out for him,” said Nyong’o, who is also the Medical Services minister.

Win-win situation

Lands minister, Mr. James Orengo, said the Obama victory was a win-win situation for Kenya and US. “The US electoral process offers a rare opportunity for men and women of good character. Any Kenyan should, therefore, be able to win nomination locally irrespective of gender, tribe, race or religion,” Orengo said.

Previous Visit To Kenya

In Mombasa, the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya Organising Secretary, Sheikh Mohamed Khalifa, urged Obama to stick to his manifesto which has earned him wide support and to steer away from US President George W’ Bush’s “confrontational policies”.

“Apart from being close to Africa, we expect Obama to move away from confrontational policies and unite the US and the rest of the world if he finally wins the presidency,” Khalifa said.

ODM-Kenya nominated MP, Ms Shakila Abdalla, said Obama’s victory was an achievement for Kenyans and Africa.

“Because Obama has roots in Kenya, we expect the US and Kenya to forge close ties. We are praying for his victory in the presidential poll,” Shakila said.

And North Eastern Province on Wednesday took delight in Obama’s victory. The predominantly Muslim province came to the limelight during the primaries early this year when Obama’s rival, Mrs Hillary Clinton’s campaign team circulated pictures on the Internet of Obama in Somali traditional attire taken in Wajir.

An elder, Mr Mohammed Hassan Mumin, who was photographed dressing Obama during the senator’s visit to Wajir, said they were happy that Obama was a step away from the presidency.

Mr Maalim Hussein, a teacher at a Quranic school in Garissa, said: “He was a victim of smear campaigns from the Clintons for embracing our attire, but we kept praying for his success and we are celebrating today.”

He added: “We also pray that he becomes the next US president so that he can help our impoverished province and Africa.”

Mr Christopher Njoroge, who lives in Washington, Seattle, said on the telephone: “This is great victory. It is victory for all America that wants real change.”

And from Des Moines, Iowa, Ms Nancy Mwirotsi, a key Obama supporter and mobiliser in a State that gave Obama his first victory, shed tears.

“For me, Obama’s victory is not just about himself and his family, it is about many young Kenyans here who look up to him as their role model,” she said.

Support Senator Obama, visit BarackObama.com