US President Joe Biden’s administration has piled pressure on Kenya to step up its fight against graft and protect civil liberties as talks on a bilateral trade deal between the two countries continue.
Washington has dispatched a top democracy and human rights official to Nairobi amid widespread reports of abuse of constitutional rights to assemble and picket during anti-government protests and the co-option of opposition politicians into government.
Uzra Zeya, the US Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, began a five-day visit to Kenya and Ethiopia on Sunday for talks on human rights, democratic governance and humanitarian cooperation.
Ms Zeya’s visit comes as President William Ruto has appointed five officials from the main opposition ODM party to his “broad-based” government, following weeks of deadly youth-led social unrest over a plan for new and higher prices, poor governance and endemic corruption.
“In Kenya, Under Secretary Zeya will meet with senior government officials, civil society representatives, and US exchange alumni to build on the 60-year-strong US-Kenya partnership, including joint efforts to strengthen the rule of law, champion anti-corruption and advance government accountability,” read a dispatch on her visit.
“In addition to addressing shared solutions to regional and global challenges, she will underscore the importance of freedoms of peaceful assembly and expression, as well as US support for democratic reforms and refugee inclusion.”
The Ruto government has come under increased scrutiny from human rights groups, including the government-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, for using live bullets on unarmed demonstrators amid increasing cases of abduction and torture of youths seen as leading the month-long protests.
The successful anti-tax protests, led by Gen Z and millennials – who have insisted they have no political, ethnic or religious affiliations – prompted Dr Ruto to sack almost his entire cabinet and reshuffle the country’s top internal security officials. The changes saw the under-fire Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome resign.
But the Kenyan leader has angered a section of protesters after he nominated 11 of the sacked ministers for fresh scrutiny by lawmakers and five others from the ODM party, which is led by veteran and main opposition leader Raila Odinga.
The government has also attacked civil society groups, including the US-based Ford Foundation, accusing them of sponsoring violence in Kenya. The Ford Foundation has denied the allegations.
Ms Zeya’s visit coincides with the seventh round of negotiations on the proposed US-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP), which is taking place in Nairobi between Monday and Friday this week.
The round of talks between Nairobi and Washington will focus mainly on agriculture, customs, trade facilitation and enforcement, environment, regulatory best practices, inclusiveness, and workers’ rights and protection.
In June, the office of US Trade Representative Katherine Tai raised concerns about gaps in Kenya’s implementation of laws and policies to protect freedom of expression and respect for human rights, including those of homosexuals.
“The enforcement of labour laws, including with respect to occupational safety and health, continues to be a significant challenge, particularly in the informal economy,” Ms Tai’s office wrote in the 2024 Biennial Report on the Implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
“Other concerns include restrictions on free expression and media, interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, lack of accountability for gender-based violence, and laws criminalising consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults, although there were no reports of the law being enforced.”
In July last year, Ms Tai snubbed the then Cabinet Secretary for Trade, Moses Kuria, in what sources at the time said was linked to his vile attacks on the media for reporting on alleged graft in cooking oil import deals and attacks on the opposition over anti-government demonstrations.
This prompted Dr Ruto to replace Mr Kuria with Rebecca Miano, who at the time headed the East African Affairs and Regional Development docket.
“We have been clear that trade policy must benefit all people. This has been part of the multilateral trading system for the last many decades,” Ms Tai told reporters at the time.
“In terms of how we engage with our trading partners in the trade dialogues that we have with the various institutions that we have, we stand by this strong vision of creating an inclusive prosperity through trade and economic policies. And that’s something that we stand by and we will not shy about advancing in all our trade engagement.”
Last year, Uganda became a victim of America’s tough stance on human rights after it was removed from the list of beneficiaries of the quota- and duty-free African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) for enacting anti-LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) laws.
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