Details of Uhuru’s phone call with US Secretary of State ahead of Ambassador Robert Godec’s exit

janet ndila

May 19, 2018 11:20 AM

US Government's special message to Kenya

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has reached out to President Uhuru Kenyatta a few days before the exit of Robert Godec after 6 year stint as the US ambassador to Kenya.

The Friday talks centered on areas of mutual interest, key among them a national conversation to move the country forward following hotly contested 2017 elections.

The State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert disclosed that Pompeo “thanked President Kenyatta for his leadership in calling for an important national conversation to move the country forward following the 2017 election”.

A national dialogue and unity initiative was launched by President Kenyatta and Raila Odinga on 09 March, a few hours before a state visit by former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Nauert revealed that the two leaders also discussed “shared goals of countering terrorism, promoting regional security and ensuring good governance”.

The Friday outreach is believed to be one of a series of overtures to show that the Trump administration respects and values relations with Africa, amidst concerns that China is taking overtaking US in its influence and investments in Africa.

A statement released by the State Department read in part that the two leaders “also discussed ways to work together to hasten the end of the conflict in South Sudan and ensure continued support for Amisom forces in Somalia”.

Pompeo took over from Rex Tillerson who was fired by the Trump administration shortly after the visit to Kenya with a section of the public linking his visit to Uhuru-Raila deal that caught many by surpise.

janet ndila