Kenya’s President William Ruto is embracing the US, UK and other Western countries, causing onlookers to ask whether the days of close Chinese engagement are coming to an end, reported the africa report.
Ruto, who defeated veteran opposition candidate Raila Odinga in a tight election in August, since taking office embraced Kenya’s economic and diplomatic relationships with the US and other Western countries, including the UK, causing onlookers to wonder whether the “Look East” policy of his predecessor, which saw Chinese-built infrastructure spring up across the East African country, is coming to an end.
Kenya is increasingly becoming a darling of the West when it comes to trade and investment, a momentous diplomatic deviation from the East, particularly China, which was the previous regime’s lodestar for nearly a decade, reported the africa report.
Since the new administration assumed office last September, Ruto’s several visits outside Africa have largely been to Western nations, including the US (twice), the UK, France, Belgium, and Germany.
After taking office, Ruto’s government released the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) linking Nairobi and Mombasa contract, albeit heavily redacted. And he delivered a shot across the bow to Beijing by allowing importers to choose their preferred means of transporting cargo from the Mombasa port, ending his predecessor’s policy of mandating use of the Chinese-built SGR. Many opted to transport goods by lorry, taking business from the railway.
Ruto’s clear overtures to Washington have been in stark contrast. And if Ruto has met China’s ambassador just once, according to public statements, the president and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua have met high level US officials almost 20 times since September, reported African Business.
Meanwhile, new UK foreign secretary James Cleverly’s first official trip was to Kenya in early December. Britain has pledged hundreds of millions for new investment projects in Kenya.
China’s predatory lending to the African country has raised concern over Kenya’s mounting public debt, reported African Business.
Moreover, Traders in Kenya and other rapidly growing economies in Africa have occasionally protested over their Chinese competitors.
China is Africa’s top trading partner and more than one million Chinese are estimated to reside on the continent, reported Nation.
Beijing accounts for two-thirds of Kenya’s USD 38 bn external debt. In October 2022 Nairobi defaulted on its repayments, incurring a fine which it paid, reported African Business.
Also, Kenyan traders have raised concern over Chinese business infiltration in country undercutting local traders with ultra-low prices and driving them out of business, they called for prohibiting issuing permits to Chinese nationals, reported Citizen Digital.
The traders, under the auspices of a group called Indigenous Capital Protection Association, have sued the government protesting the influx of Chinese traders in Kenya.
The traders want the Immigration Services department to stop issuing Chinese nationals with employment and business permits, reported Nation.
They also want the court to stop China Square Mall from importing and selling merchandise from Chinese manufacturers and distributors, reported Citizen Digital.
Chinese-owned China Square mall is among more than 40 trading companies entangled in a lawsuit seeking to halt the operations of foreign entities selling low-priced imported goods on the Kenyan market.
They also claimed that the Investment Promotion Authority has been illegally issuing investment certificates to Chinese traders and economic migrants in order for them to engage in economic activities that not only undermine Kenya’s sustainable development and prejudice its citizens, but also violate the conditions set out in Section 4 of the Investment Promotion Act.
There is no data available to show how many Chinese traders or people are in Kenya, but there has been growing anti-Chinese sentiment in recent years, reported Nation.
This has been partly fuelled by alleged racist incidents involving individual Chinese people in Kenya and perceptions of Chinese traders taking businesses and jobs from locals.
In 2019, the Kenyan authorities deported seven Chinese nationals who had been operating in two markets in Nairobi, accusing them of not having work permits and saying they could not operate in a sector that had been reserved for locals.
In 2020, four Chinese men were deported after being accused of caning a Kenyan man working at a Chinese restaurant, reported Nation.