NAIROBI – Former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper party has said President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Administration Foreign Policy has failed.
In a statement after convening its first National Executive Committee meeting of 2024 on Tuesday, January 16, Wiper said it has taken note of the fundamental failures of the Kenya Kwanza regime particularly in relation to its failed foreign policy and blatant violation of basic constitutional principles.
“For a country that has taken leadership in the region and among the community states, it is disheartening that today that position is threatened by diplomatic goofs by the current regime pitting Kenya against her closest neighbors.
“We continue to see relentless diplomatic rows, from DRC, to Sudan, to Rwanda, to Uganda and Tanzania. We cannot sit and watch them break relationships that took time and effort to build, especially the East Africa Community,” the opposition party, which is part of Opposition chief Raila Odinga-led NASA coalition, said.
While President Ruto maintains he has put Kenya on the global map through his international travels, he has been criticised over decisions that have rubbed neighbours the wrong way.
On Monday, Kenya engaged in a public spat over a disagreement over air travel rights with Tanzania, a matter that was resolved through diplomatic channels on Tuesday.
Democratic Republic of Congo mid-December recalled Ambassador to Kenya John Nyakeru after a Congolese political-military alliance that included M23 rebels was launched in Nairobi ahead of the presidential election in the country.
The rebels led by DRC former National Electoral Commission (Ceni) chief Corneille Nangaa announced the Alliance du Fleuve Congo (Congo River Alliance), which he said would galvanise efforts by armed groups, opposition and civil society groups to return their country to democracy.
But even with Kinshasa protestations, President Ruto in a TV interview said Kinshasa was at liberty to recall its envoy as he was not going to arrest the rebel leaders for holding a press conference Kenya as it is a democratic country.
“DRC wanted to know whether we can arrest them. We told them Kenya is a democracy, we cannot arrest anyone who has issued a statement. We don’t arrest people who make statements, we arrest criminals,” Ruto said.
“If anybody has committed any criminality, we will go out of our way to deal with them, but [not] issuing statements. How many people in Kenya issue statements against me everyday? That is what a democracy is all about,” the President added.
Kinshasa also declined to extend the mandate of the Kenya-led East African Community Regional Force, which had been deployed to pacify the eastern region. President Felix Tshisekedi said the troops failed to fight the M23 rebels.
In their place after withdrawing in December, South African bloc SADC forces have been deployed.
In regards to Uganda, Kampala on December 28, 2023, sued Nairobi at the East African Court of Justice for denying its government-owned oil marketer a licence to operate locally, and handle fuel imports headed to its territory.
In November, the Kenyan government declined to license the Uganda National Oil Corporation to operate as a local oil marketer, prompting Kampala to seek legal redress. In its case, it argues that Kenya has reneged on an earlier deal in April last year to support Kampala’s quest to directly import its fuel starting January 2024.
On Sudan, Khartoum has accused President Ruto of harbouring Gen Hamdan Dagalo’s Rapid Support Forces elements in Kenya, which led to junta leader Gen Abdel Burhan to reject the Kenyan leader as lead mediator in the IGAD-led peace process.
The situation escalated in January, when Khartoum recalled its Ambassador in Nairobi over Ruto’s reception of Dagalo, whom they consider a militia rebel.
Sudan Foreign Affairs Minister Ali al-Sadiq said Nairobi offered Dagalo an elaborate reception, “forgetting the terrible violations committed by his disbanded forces and the destruction they caused on infrastructure, the country’s capabilities, and citizens’ property”.
Dagalo met with President Ruto at State House Nairobi where they held talks over the conflict that broke out in April last year.
He received an almost head of state reception at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport complete with flower girls and troupe of dancers, and had flag protocols set up at State House Nairobi for the photo op. Uganda, South Africa, Rwanda and Djibouti did not extend such treatment, although in Ethiopia, he was received by the Deputy Prime Minister and accorded a guard of honour.
At the airport, he was received by Interior Minister Prof Kithure Kindiki, National Intelligence Service Chief Noordin Haji and Nyaribari Chache MP Zaheer Jhanda, a close Ruto ally who has in the past been accused of involvement in gold scams.
Notably, President Ruto’s foreign policy posturing started off on the wrong footing at the onset of his administration, rescinding Sahrawi Republic’s recognition on September 13, 2022.
Following his inauguration, which President Brahim Ghali attended, Ruto tweeted, “Kenya rescinds its recognition of the SADR and initiates steps to wind down the entity’s presence in the country”.
This was after meeting Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, making a departure from Kenya’s long-held position.
