Meg Whitman submits her resignation as US Ambassador to Kenya
United States Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman.
US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman resigned on Wednesday, coming a week after the stunning comeback of Donald Trump to the White House, and sustained calls from angry Kenyans for her to quit.
Ms Whitman, an American billionaire who became only the third female American ambassador to Kenya, said she had tendered her resignation to outgoing US President Joe Biden.
The embassy will now be under the leadership of Chargé d'Affaires Marc Dillard.
Kenya US embassy Chargé d'Affaires Marc Dillard.
In a press statement, Ms Whitman highlighted her achievements in the position, citing the various trade, health and security deals that Kenya signed with the USA such as the elevation of Kenya as its first major Non-NATO ally in sub-Saharan Africa.
“I am proud of leading a people-centred agenda that saves lives, increases security, and creates economic opportunities for Kenyans and Americans. From delivering emergency funding to alleviate catastrophic flooding in 2023 to the ongoing fight against malaria, HIV, and MPOX, the US government prioritises the health and welfare of our friends in Kenya,” Ms Whitman said in a statement.
Ms Whitman, a former Wall Street chief executive, had arrived in Kenya just as Nairobi prepared for elections in which William Ruto won to become the fifth President in 2022. She had replaced Kyle McCarter, an appointee of Donald Trump’s first term who had quit earlier in 2021 after Joe Biden replaced Trump. Both were political appointees, not mainstream diplomats. By November 2024, Whitman had about a year left on her tenure, going by the American tradition of sending envoys to stations for three years, with rare exceptions of extensions.
Stronger business ties
In her time, Ms Whitman pushed for stronger business ties with Nairobi but also came under fire for supposedly looking the other way when government operatives violated civil liberties.
A public defender of the William Ruto presidency, she was once described by opposition leader Raila Odinga as a ‘rogue ambassador’, although the two later reconciled as shown in appearances at public events. Mr Odinga himself has since realigned with Ruto.
But Ms Whitman was also criticised for not being vocal about violations, including abductions and disappearances of civilians especially, after the Gen Z protests earlier in June. West diplomatic missions took about ten days before condemning the violence.
Two weeks ago, however, she condemned reported police use of mobile phone tracking to nail suspects, following an expose by the Nation. Yet critics accused her of refusing to append a signature on envoys’ statement calling for urgent investigations into disappearances.
Lawyer Gitobu Imanyara publicly called Trump to recall her, saying “we as Kenyans have something to celebrate” if the new President ended her tenure. Trump will now need not to do that. Instead, he will have to look for a new envoy for appointment to replace her.
Ms Whitman herself is a Republican and was an unsuccessful contender for Governor of California seat in 2010. She was also a senior member of former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaigns. Romney lost to Barack Obama.
In the 2016 elections, however, Whitman threw her weight behind Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who lost to Donald Trump.
In the 2020 polls, she supported the current President Joseph Biden.
Born in 1956 in New York, Whitman studied mathematics and science at Princeton University (1974) and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School (1979).
She has served in senior roles at some of the largest corporations in the world, having been an executive at Walt Disney in the 1980s.
On Wednesday, she also expressed confidence that the relationship between Kenya and America will continue under the new administration.
“I have no doubt that our 60 years of partnership will continue to strengthen and serve
Americans and Kenyans as we aim to build more prosperous, healthy, secure, and democratic nations. Our relations are stronger than ever, and I am confident this trajectory will continue. I will depart Kenya full of gratitude for the team that has worked tirelessly on my behalf, for the opportunity to serve my country, and for the friendship offered by the government and the people of the beautiful Republic of Kenya,” she said in her statement on Wednesday.
