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- Apr 6, 2017
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United States President Donald Trump is backing the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta, dealing a huge blow to NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga, who was a favourite of international leaders in the 2013 elections.
Trump, who succeeded Barack Obama by overcoming the challenge of Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton in last year’s election, has already met Mr Kenyatta — at an international event in Europe.
One of the reasons why the US president appears to have endorsed the Jubilee Party candidate to win the August 8 elections is that Raila backed former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton. The NASA flag bearer even travelled to USA to witness Mrs Clinton get officially nominated at the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Trump, who describes himself as a counterpuncher, is keen to serve his revenge against the ODM leader.
Soon after winning the presidency, President Kenyatta was among the first African leaders Trump called. The US leader was happy with Kenya’s mission in Somalia to battle Al Shabaab and bring peace to the war-torn country.
Unlike previous US ambassadors to Kenya, Robert Codec, the current holder of the office, has been very friendly to the Jubilee administration. He has rarely faulted the government, at least not publicly, but has been keen to reprimand the Raila Odinga-led opposition. Even Obama heavily criticised Raila and his colleagues in the opposition when he visited in 2015.
Claims that NASA is being financed by corrupt individuals have also not helped matters for Raila, according to sources cited by the Citizen newspaper. In the recent weeks, the role of businessman Jimi Wanjigi in the NASA campaigns has been a thorny issue. Mr Wanjigi has been named in major scandals, in which taxpayers lost billions of shillings. Those individuals have been barred from visiting the United States and Trump is uncomfortable working with someone with a tainted image.
In the run up to the 2013 polls, because President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto were facing pending cases at the International Criminal Court (ICC), the international community appeared to warn Kenyans against electing the Jubilee candidate, saying ‘choices have consequences’.
But since Uhuru came to power, Kenya’s image internationally has greatly improved. Key world leaders, such as former US president Barack Obama, Pope Francis, the Chinese President Xi Jinping, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi among others have visited the country.
Why Trump is supporting Uhuru
sent from iPhone 7
Trump, who succeeded Barack Obama by overcoming the challenge of Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton in last year’s election, has already met Mr Kenyatta — at an international event in Europe.
One of the reasons why the US president appears to have endorsed the Jubilee Party candidate to win the August 8 elections is that Raila backed former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton. The NASA flag bearer even travelled to USA to witness Mrs Clinton get officially nominated at the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Trump, who describes himself as a counterpuncher, is keen to serve his revenge against the ODM leader.
Soon after winning the presidency, President Kenyatta was among the first African leaders Trump called. The US leader was happy with Kenya’s mission in Somalia to battle Al Shabaab and bring peace to the war-torn country.
Unlike previous US ambassadors to Kenya, Robert Codec, the current holder of the office, has been very friendly to the Jubilee administration. He has rarely faulted the government, at least not publicly, but has been keen to reprimand the Raila Odinga-led opposition. Even Obama heavily criticised Raila and his colleagues in the opposition when he visited in 2015.
Claims that NASA is being financed by corrupt individuals have also not helped matters for Raila, according to sources cited by the Citizen newspaper. In the recent weeks, the role of businessman Jimi Wanjigi in the NASA campaigns has been a thorny issue. Mr Wanjigi has been named in major scandals, in which taxpayers lost billions of shillings. Those individuals have been barred from visiting the United States and Trump is uncomfortable working with someone with a tainted image.
In the run up to the 2013 polls, because President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto were facing pending cases at the International Criminal Court (ICC), the international community appeared to warn Kenyans against electing the Jubilee candidate, saying ‘choices have consequences’.
But since Uhuru came to power, Kenya’s image internationally has greatly improved. Key world leaders, such as former US president Barack Obama, Pope Francis, the Chinese President Xi Jinping, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi among others have visited the country.
Why Trump is supporting Uhuru
sent from iPhone 7
