The other side of Clinton tour to Kenya

The other side of Clinton tour to Kenya
Updated on: Sunday, August 09, 2009
Story by: DENNIS Lumiti
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FROM Tuesday to Thursday, Kenya played host to arguably the most powerful woman on earth.Hillary Rodham Clinton, famed wife to former US President Bill Clinton and currently US Secretary of State did not disappoint.She graced numerous occasions from the Africa Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) Conference to remembering victims of the 1998 bomb blast; to dinner hosted in her honour; to interactive sessions with the public and youth, name them. This, she did with admirable agility and vigour that one would be tempted to doubt she is beyond 60! But amid all the high expectations and excitement that permeated Kenya following the visit, our country came to virtually a standstill.

And because of this, I wish to write an open letter to Mama Clinton informing her about the effects of her visit to our country. And I strongly believe that Michael Ranneberger will pass the information to her. How are you Madam Clinton? First, I congratulate you for bestowing the honour on Kenya, the birth-place US President Barack Obama’s father, by according her a three day visit. That is no mean feat from a high-ranking American that you are.I am happy that you finally landed safely in Pretoria, the country of one Jacob Zuma, without any harm befalling you on our Kenyan soil.

For this, I believe as you head back to Washington after visiting five other African nations besides Kenya and South Africa, you will tell President Obama frankly that we are safe and do not need to continue living under the yoke of so-called travel advisories.But, I am sorry because I will get bluntly honest with you: Your tour did more harm than good to our country. And please spare us another visit before we recover fully from the effects of your so-called working tour.Mrs. Clinton, just before you landed, something terrible happened to the system of our mobile companies. From Saturday, it was hell to make transactions on the famous MPESA and ZAP. Even ATM networks were off and on. This persisted through to Sunday, Monday, worsened on Tuesday when you finally landed. It is when things have started working now, albeit still hit by delays.

Madam, I seriously suspect your people over this “jam”. This is the same thing that happened to our country several years ago when your husband just overflew our airspace on his way to some other neighbouring “friend”. Many people were adversely affected due to that breakdown taking note that many Kenyans now store, receive and send cash on their hand sets. Some people even delayed leaving hospitals while others got stranded and business deals went sour. Who knows if others died just because theyy could not access cash that wold have saved their lives? All these because of you Mama Clinton.

You Americans literally want to exhibit your might wherever you go; from too inquisitive marines to mean looking bodyguards who suspect everybody as a terrorist. Being one of the journalists who had the opportunity to cover Clinton, I came to realize that this is not the “opportunities” we want.Some streets in our city were completely declared out of bounds. Kenyans were not free to walk, ride or drive in areas around InterContinental Hotel where “Mama America” was putting up, even as she only spent the night there.

Many of our roads in Nairobi must have even wondered what had befallen the hundreds of cars that cruise on them day and night. Watching our President, Prime Minister and Vice-President being humiliated at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) when they “interacted” with the iron-lady left me seething with anger.That Kibaki’s motorcade could be haddled to a corner to give way for Mrs. Clinton’s was not worth watching. So even the host President was a security threat? I felt disgusted and started questioning whether we were really a sovereign State. As an ordinary citizen, I had earlier been excited about the visit by Mrs. Clinton because I thought it would change things.

When I heard her breathing fire at KICC on her first day and sending a warning to Kenyan political leadership over reforms, I felt good. That it would not be business as usual for the three days she would be around. But alas....She fast breathed our air and became a Kenyan! So to me, Mama Chelsea was simply on holiday.Even our politicians were this time not scared of her: They were busy kick-starting power rationing programmes, exchanging diatribes over the Mau, with the Prime Minister even dismissing the US delegates to their face, telling them to “Stop lecturing us on our politics”.

That was an indication that our politicians are no longer scared of the Americans. That they, like the resistant TB, had started developing immunity against justice and pressures from the Big Brothers.The kind of treatment accorded to Clinton kept me wondering if our own Moses Masika Wetangula could get even an inch of that if he toured the US.So am happy, madam Diplomat that you left without a Somali missile or shoe being hurled your way; and now we have passed over the burden of taking care of you and your massive entourage to Zuma.

And, by the way, I recall pleading with Obama a few months ago to visit us sooner than he wishes, if he ever plans. But I have changed my mind now, and am sure many other Kenyans have. Please tell him we no longer need him because things would be worse. Let him keep quarreling from that safe distance.
dlumiti@yahoo.co.uk.