Mutunga & Obama to meet

Chief Justice Willy Mutunga to meet Barack Obama in Senegal

Updated Tuesday, June 25th 2013 at 11:54 GMT +3

Chief Justice Willy Mutunga to meet US President Barack Obama in Senegal[Photo:Standard]

By Standard Digital Reporter

NAIROBI, KENYA: Chief Justice Willy Mutunga is set to travel to Dakar, Senegal to meet US PresidentBarack Obama who will skip Kenya in his official visit to Africa.

The CJ will meet Obama alongside 11 other chief justices from Africa.

The meeting between the African chief justices and President Obama is expected to focus on the role of the judiciary in democratisation.

A statement issued on behalf of the CJ stated that the invitation to meet Obama was relayed through the US Embassy in Nairobi and signed by Ambassador Robert F. Godec. The US Embassy will meet the costs of the trip.

Recently Obama explained his itinerary did not include Kenya because the International Criminals Court (ICC) had indicted President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto.

What is more, Obama also appeared to downgradeKenya’s place in the region by singling out Tanzania as America’s key ally in the East Africa region.

In a Press briefing on Obama’s upcoming trip toSenegal, South Africa and Tanzania via conference call, US Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said it was not the best time for the US President to visit Kenya.

“Given the fact that Kenya is in the aftermath of their election and the new government has come into place and is going to be reviewing these issues with the ICC and the international community, it just wasn’t the best time for the President to travel to Kenya at this point,” said Mr Rhodes.

He said though President Obama had deep personal and familial connections to Kenya, the US, as a country, had a commitment to accountability and justice as a baseline principle.