The International Criminal Court has charged Mr Ruto and five others with crimes against humanity linked to violence. The case was dropped in 2016.
Kenyan President William Ruto’s state visit to Washington this week – the first by an African president since 2008 – reflects the increasingly close ties between Nairobi and Washington, even as Russian mercenaries, Chinese loans, Wars and coups d’état roll back U.S. influence elsewhere on the continent.
Chad and Niger, once staunch U.S. allies, have both asked American troops to leave their territories this year. Diplomatic heavyweight Ethiopia, once a key ally in Africa, is infuriated by US allegations of gross human rights violations and ethnic cleansing during its recent two-year civil war. Washington’s fervent support for Israel has also put it at odds with continental players such as South Africa and Egypt, which have sharply criticized the war in Gaza.
The United States is therefore increasingly turning to Kenya: to broker ceasefires and negotiations, to contribute to international peacekeeping operations in hotspots like Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Haiti, and building support on topics ranging from the war in Ukraine to climate change.
“Kenya is the anchor of central and east Africa,” Mr. Ruto said in an interview, citing the initiatives that Nairobi is leading: peace talks between the government and small rebel groups in the South -Sudan; negotiations aimed at defusing tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia; and the role of guarantor of the fragile agreement that ended Ethiopia’s bloody civil war.
Before the end of the month, 200 Kenyan police officers will also travel to Haiti, the first contingent of a force of 1,000, Ruto said. The United States is helping fund the yearlong deployment to help stabilize the Caribbean island nation after gangs took control of it. Kenyan police are themselves frequently accused of brutality, executions and enforced disappearances, although those figures have declined slightly since Mr. Ruto took power and put an officer nicknamed “the killer cop” on trial. of Kenya”.
Kenya’s disorderly and vibrant democracy has generally consolidated since the reintroduction of multi-party elections in 1992. A crisis erupted, however, following the disputed 2007 elections, which sparked deadly riots and ethnic cleansing, killing more than 1 200 people. The International Criminal Court has charged Mr Ruto and five others with crimes against humanity linked to the violence. The case was dropped in 2016.
read the rest of the text on WP: As U.S. influence in Africa wanes, Kenya bucks the trend (msn.com)
