US secretary of state Hillary Clinton told Kenya’s government yesterday it must quickly implement long-delayed reforms and that corruption, impunity and human rights abuses were holding the country back.
Carrying a personal message from US president Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan, Ms Clinton said she told president Mwai Kibaki and prime minister Raila Odinga they must work harder to implement fully a power-sharing deal that ended bloodletting after a disputed December 2007 election.
Ms Clinton is in Nairobi for a US trade conference with sub-Saharan African countries, where she warned that investors would shun states on the continent that had weak leaders and economies riddled with corruption and crime.
At a press conference with Kenyan foreign minister Moses Wetangula, she used unusually harsh language about the Kenyan situation.
“The absence of strong, effective democratic institutions has permitted ongoing corruption, impunity, politically motivated violence, human rights abuses and a lack of respect for the rule of law,” she said. “These conditions helped fuel the post-election violence and they are continuing to hold Kenya back.”
Mr Wetangula said his government was doing everything it could and it was important for nations to talk to each other candidly.
“President Kibaki and his team assured the secretary of state that reforms are on course and that the war against impunity in the country is on, that a war against corruption is on,” he said at the joint news conference.
“All sanctuaries of corruption will be destroyed to make Kenya a cleaner and safer place to do business,” he promised.
Last month, Kenya was ranked by Transparency International as east Africa’s most graft-prone nation, with a bribe expected or solicited in nearly half of all transactions.
At the trade meeting, Ms Clinton repeated a message given last month by US president Obama during a speech in Ghana.
“True economic progress in Africa . . . also depends on responsible governments that reject corruption, enforce the rule of law and deliver results for their people. This is not just about good governance, this is about good business,” she said.
“Investors will be attracted to states that do this. And they will not be attracted to states with failed or weak leadership, or crime and civil unrest, or corruption that taints every transaction and decision.” In a video message after Ms Clinton spoke, Mr Obama said only Africans could unlock the continent’s potential.