Obama/ Raila Luncheon

Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga has been invited for a luncheon that President Barack Obama is hosting next week for several African leaders.

The September 22 event in New York will offer the first opportunity since Mr Obama’s election for an exchange of courtesies between the United States president and a senior Kenyan leader.

President Obama, son of a Kenyan father, has kept his distance from both President Kibaki and Mr Odinga as a sign of his country’s displeasure with Kenya’s response to official corruption, ethnic violence and police abuses.

The American leader chose Ghana as his first official destination in Africa, and did not invite Mr Odinga when the PM visited the US in June.

The United States is snubbing half a dozen countries: Eritrea, Guinea, Madagascar, Niger, Sudan and Zimbabwe. Their leaders have been left off the guest list because of disputes over their governance or an antagonistic relationship with Washington.

“We are looking to have a dialogue with responsible leaders about the future of Africa’s economic and social development,” Ms Susan Rice, US ambassador to the United Nations, said on Monday while announcing the luncheon.

The gathering will take place at a time when many world leaders will be in New York for the opening session of the UN General Assembly. Mr Odinga is scheduled to address the General Assembly on September 25.