Photo: State Department Nairobi — A former senior diplomat under President George W. Bush has criticised the United States for not formally recognizing Uhuru Kenyatta's victory in last week's elections.
Jendayi Frazer, a former United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs said the US and Europe were playing a dangerous game for their delayed endorsement of Kenyatta's presidency.
"If the US, the UK and the Europeans don't want to deal with Uhuru Kenyatta, he has another option," she cautioned.
Speaking in an interview with American TV channel PBS, Frazer said that Kenya is a strategic partner to the United States and a key ally in the fight against terrorism in addition to being East Africa's economic hub.
"Many American businesses like FORD, General Electric and others are based there so it's key to the region as whole," she said.
However, she warned that the West risked losing it's strategic influence in the region.
"The geo-strategic environment has changed entirely and particulary (in favour of) China. The Chinese have changed the playing field (and) if the US, the UK and Europeans don't want to deal with Uhuru Kenyatta, he has another option," she explained.
Frazer who says she has been to Kenya twice this year said the fact that the Chinese ambassador and Foreign Ministry have already welcomed Kenyatta by referring to him as President-elect.
Frazer accused the US, Canada and Britain of meddling in Kenyans domestic affairs by threatening to put trade sanctions to Kenya, if they elected Kenyatta.
"They are in a bad situation because prior to the election, they threatened the Kenyan electorate by saying 'if you elect Uhuru Kenyatta, there will be consequences; we may put trade sanctions,' which was extra ordinary because the case for Kenyatta is not proven," she explained.
She said that the diffusion of power, the expectations about the new institutions as well as the lessons learnt from the 2007 General Elections had accounted for the lack of violence this time.
Frazer also explained that the tribal competition is still imminent and that this election was based on community voting for "their boys" .
"The need for healing and reconciliation is still much there in Kenya," she said.
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Let Uhuru take the other option; let Kenyans live with that option, then either re-elect Uhuru and his cronies/children or else defeat (and hopefully arrest, prosecute, convict, and jail) them. Frazer here shows the moral sense of a crocodile, leopard, shark, or deadly virus.
We Africans are fed up with America and Europe dictation thank goodness we now have an option (CHINA )
When Kenya needs food they should turn to China. The US has been bailing this country out for many year with her food donations.
I love Frazer. I saw an interview with her on Al Jazeera, where Muthoni Wanyeki was too. Muthoni Wanyeki sounded and looked more like an American who have never been to Kenya or Africa, when Frazer sounded like a true representative of most Kenyans worldview. These so-called Human Rights Activists (read entrepreneurs who sell disease, famine war and death to their customers, aid agencies (see Susan Moeller's book: Compassion Fatigue or Lilie Chouliaraki's book: The spectatorship of Suffering ) are so out of touch with the emotions of the common Kenyan. They have internalized aid agencies' worldview and such devoid of sociological or philosophical imaginations. They suffer from stockholm syndrome. They do not represent the interests of IDPs, that they claim to represent, but the interests of their financiers. If they really care for IDP, at the top of the list of their indictee should be 1) Odinga, 2) Kibaki. Jesus, I was so ashamed of Wanyeki.
KENYA WILL LEAD THE WAY NOW IN MAKING SURE THAT THE USA'S INFLUENCE IN AFRICAN POLITICS IS REDUCE TO NOTHING.
WE IN DR CONGO ARE SICK AND TIRED OF LOOKING AT THE USA SPONSOR RAPE AND MURDER OF CONGOLESE THROUGH THEIR SUPPORT TO RWANDA AND UGANDA.
CONGOLESE PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FORGIVING TO AMERICANS. THEY KILLED LUMUMBA IN 1960 BUT WE CELEBRATED AMERICAN CULTURE BY HOSTING ALI AND FOREMAN. THEY ALL CAME GREEDY AS USUAL JAMES BROWN, WAFANYA ALL STARS BB KING AND ALL THE REST. NOW FOR NO REASON THEY WANT TO PARTITION THE COUNTRY. DOWN WITH AMERICA.
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