NAIROBI – President William Ruto did not attend the BRICS Summit in South Africa to avoid rubbing shoulders with coup leaders, thus tainting Kenya’s democratic values, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary has said.
Speaking to Citizen TV in an interview aired on Tuesday, PS Korir Sing’oei said Kenya was not represented at a high-level at the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa bloc summit on August 22-24 because the government struggled with the positions it had already taken on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, its long-standing stance on democracy as well as the coups in Africa.
“What we were worried about was the kind of invitees who would be on that forum, and that it would be possible for the President to rub shoulders with individuals whose accession to power was incompatible with our values. So, we made those choices based on not just our interests but also our values,” PS Sing’oei said.
The remarks risk being interpreted as casting aspersions on the democratic credentials of the initial BRICS members and others who attended, some of whom are close allies. Indeed, none of the junta leaders was listed as having attended.
During the Johannesburg meeting, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates were invited to join the bloc, with full membership taking effect on January 1, 2024
Among those who attended were China President Xi Jinping, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa (the host), Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who physically represented President Vladimir Putin attending virtually.
Others were presidents Luis Arce (Bolivia), Evariste Ndayishimiye (Burundi), Faustin Touadera (CAR), Denis Sassou Nguesso (Congo Brazzaville), Miguel Díaz-Canel (Cuba), Teodoro Obiang (Equatorial Guinea), Isaias Afwerki (Eritrea), Nana Akufo-Addo (Ghana), Joko Widodo (Indonesia), Ebrahim Raisi (Iran), Lazarus Chakwera (Malawi), Filipe Nyusi (Mozambique), Hage Geingob (Namibia), Brahim Ghali (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic), Carlos Vila Nova (São Tomé and Príncipe), Macky Sall (Senegal), Salva Kiir (South Sudan), Samia Suluhu Hassan (Tanzania), Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan (UAE), Hakainde Hichilema (Zambia) and prime ministers Sheikh Hasina (Bangladesh), Joseph Ngute (Cameroon), Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde (DRC), Mostafa Madbouly (Egypt) and Abiy Ahmed (Ethiopia), most of who he has already met in different instances.
There was also representation by Botswana Vice President Slumber Tsogwane, Nigeria’s Kashim Shettima, Uganda’s Jessica Alupo, Zimbabwe’s Constantino Chiwenga, Algeria Finance Minister Laaziz Fayed, Angola State Minister of Economic Coordination José de Lima Massano, Belarus Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik, Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al Saud and Palestine Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Abu Amr.
Ahead of the summit, President Ruto had on July 28 condemned the coup in Niger and the preceding unconstitutional takeover of governments in Africa. In a video briefing at State House Mombasa, President Ruto said the coup went against the Constitutive Act of the African Union which ‘condemns and rejects any unconstitutional change of government’.
“We call for the swift restoration of constitutional rule ensuring the protection of the population and a return to full civilian authority while upholding utmost respect for the country’s institution,” Ruto said.
He added that the resurgence of military coups and attempts to subvert the will of the people in Africa demands a united and global response to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.
President Ruto also skipped the Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg on July 27-28 , choosing, instead, to be represented by the African Union.
Democratic values were, however, not cited at the time. State House Spokesman Hussein Mohamed said the President had conveyed the message to the AU to represent him in line with the Assembly’s Decision 762 of February 2020.
“President William Ruto will not be personally attending the Russia-Africa summit; instead, he will be represented by organs of the Africa Union. This decision aligns with the stance of African Heads of State and Government, who believe that in order for Africa to engage in meaningful discussions with global partners, partnership summits organised by external parties need to be reviewed to establish an effective framework for African Union partnerships,” Mohamed said in a statement.
In line with the February 2020 decision, the African Union/ continent would be represented at partnership meetings with and a partner state by the members of the Bureau of the Assembly of the Union, as well as chairpersons of Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Chairperson of the Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC) of AUDA-NEPAD and the Chairperson of the AU Commission.
Leading to the summit, President Ruto had been critical of summits inviting African leaders to capitals in groups, terming it disrespectful. He, however, attended the Saudi-African conference on November 10.
The Russia summit was attended by among others Ibrahim Traoré (Interim President of Burkina Faso) and Assimi Goïta (Interim President of Mali).
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