Kenya President William Ruto and US President Joe Biden during their talks at White house on May 23, 2024.
Last week’s state visit by President William Ruto to America was one for the ages. It was a rare honour for a Black African leader by the President of the United States.
Those of us who understand American foreign policy – and especially the treatment of Africa within that milieu – couldn’t mistake the significance of the moment. In regard and global import, Africa has historically ranked at the bottom of US foreign policy. That’s why when an African head of state becomes the centre of attention in Washington D.C. – the world’s most important capital – we must stand up and take notice. Let me peel your eyes on the significance of the visit, and what it means for Kenya and Africa.
President Ruto’s visit to the United States could have come at more fraught time for the West, including the US itself in Africa. In the last decade, Africa has steadily reasserted herself on the global stage as the economies of some of its countries experienced rapid growth. In that span of time, China has been eating America’s lunch in African states where it held historical sway and preeminence, including Kenya.
In West and Central Africa, the French have met with unprecedented revulsion. Once meek countries have told France to get off their backs. Unfortunately, Russian influence is on the ascendance there. But it is in anchor African states such as Kenya where the battle influence is fiercest.
Scramble for Africa
This is the context in which President Ruto visited America. A new Scramble for Africa is underway as emergent powers revolving around China and Russia threaten to upset the post-World War II global order led by America. In imperial parlance, there is the question “who lost” country X? Which American President, or party, was in power when Iran and Vietnam, among others, were lost to the Western orbit? The question among US policymakers might be who will lose Africa to China?
Foreign policy is an extension of a state’s interests and values abroad. It is neither sentimental, nor an act of charity but realpolitik. That is the lens through which we should analyse the visit and the relationship between Kenya and the US.
Importantly, President Ruto’s visit was not just about Kenya. He took on global inequities and how they keep Africa down. He called for real reform of international institutions, especially in finance, to allow Africa full and equitable access in governance and capital. He spoke forcefully against the marginalisation of Africa in global affairs and in peace and security matters. The same attention that is paid to Ukraine and Gaza should be paid to the conflict in Sudan and other distressed African states.
For too long, Africa’s voice has been muted in Washington. I thought President Ruto’s challenge to the US and the West to treat Africa as an equal was timely as Africa surges. President Biden’s re-election would help the reforms President Ruto advanced.
President Barack Obama, an American of Kenyan descent visited Kenya, but his administration did not rain manna on Nairobi from Washington. Donald Trump, his successor, disdained Africa which he referred to as “shithole countries.” But President Biden right off the bat saw Kenya as an important anchor state in Africa. Kenya is one of the countries in which Washington aims to reverse the Chinese “capture” of Kenya. Ambassador Meg Whitman has done yeoman work in bringing Kenya closer to Washington again.
The generous economic, infrastructure, trade, security, education, and cooperation deals that President Ruto signed in Washington are nothing short of impressive. Kenya’s historic designation as a major non-NATO ally is an indirect security pact. It opens many strategic doors.
Haiti mission
At first glance, President Ruto’s visit is an enviable one for any state, let alone an African one. Not only was there pomp and circumstance, but there was also substance. The last African head of state so honoured was in 2008. The whole panoply of American power was on display. To put in military language, it was shock and awe. There’s some criticism out there, especially on the Haiti mission.
That remains a puzzle that President Ruto needs to navigate carefully because Haiti is a tough nut to crack. Other than that, I believe the visit was an unqualified success. As a Black man who lives in America, I was proud to see an African President treated with respect.
If you ask me, methinks Kenya got the better of the visit. Perhaps America is waking up to the fact that it has to treat Africa with respect even as it advances its strategic interests on the continent.
Raila Odinga, a Kenyan statesman, is on the cusp of becoming the Chairperson of the African Union Commission. This feat would make President Ruto’s visit to Washington DC even more significant for Kenya on the global stage. Globally, Kenya’s star is on the rise, even as its local politics remain imperfect. All Kenyans need to see President Ruto’s visit to America as a major win and breakthrough for the country.
Makau Mutua is SUNY Distinguished Professor and Margaret W. Wong Professor at Buffalo Law School, The State University of New York. @makaumutua
