Kenya's Longstanding Diplomatic Ties With Neighbours Dwindle As Museveni, Suluhu Snub Ruto

• On August 14, President William Ruto travelled to Uganda and held a closed-door meeting with his host, President Yoweri Museveni
• One month later, on September 7, the Kenyan president was in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, at the invitation of President Samia Suluhu
• But now, eyebrows are being raised following the failure of neighbouring EAC presidents to show up at Jamhuri Day celebrations
• John Mueke, an advocate of the High Court of Kenya, said the absence of some leaders could have been due to various reasons

Dennis Lubanga, a Kenyan journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than 10 years of experience covering politics, news, and feature stories across digital and print media in Kenya.

Nairobi - Since assuming power in September 2022, President William Ruto has visited almost all the countries that form the East African Community (EAC).

For instance, on August 14, Ruto travelled to Uganda and held a closed-door meeting with his host, President Yoweri Museveni.

One month later, on September 7, the Kenyan president was in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, at the invitation of President Samia Suluhu to attend the 13th Africa Food Systems Summit.

On October 27, Ruto honoured an invitation and attended a climate conference in Congo Brazzaville.

Last week, he was in Djibouti for an Igad event after jetting in from India, where he was on a state visit.

But now, eyebrows are being raised following the failure of neighbouring presidents to show up at Jamhuri Day celebrations held on December 12 at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi.

With the warm partnerships and camaraderie that the EAC nations share, it is customary for heads of state to grace each other's major national occasions, like the Jamhuri Day fete.

Contrary to this habitual script, all eight presidents in the EAC regional bloc were conspicuously missing from the event. However, they opted to send their representatives.

Who were the representatives sent to Jamhuri Day celebrations

Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu sent Zanzibar's President Hassan Mwinyi, who said during his speech that the leader of Kenya's southern neighbour "could not attend because floods caused by El Niño rains had wreaked havoc in the north of our country."

On the other hand, President Museveni chose to send the country's deputy prime minister, Rebecca Kadaga, while Burundian President General Évariste Ndayishimiye was represented by his Vice President Prosper Bazombanza.

Other EAC presidents, Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Salva Kiir (South Sudan), Félix Antoine Tshisekedi (DRC), and Somalia's Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, were absent, while Ethiopia continued its tradition of sending President Sahle-Work Zewde to represent Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

For neighbouring presidents to snub such a monumental day in Kenya's history lifts the lid on the sturdiness of the so-called firm relationship between President Ruto and his regional counterparts.

How did pundits react to the Kenyan-EAC issue

However, interviewed pundits told TUKO.co.ke that while it's important to consider the significance of these events, it's also crucial not to jump to conclusions.

Kamukama Fredie, a senior member of the MK Movement under the leadership of Uganda's First Son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, said that the leaders skipping the event should not be seen as a "big issue."

"Kenya is currently on the right track, and it is one of the best neighbours in the EAC region, unlike what we are witnessing, for instance, between Rwanda and the DRC, Burundi and Rwanda, and Burundi and the DRC," said Kamukama.

John Mueke, an advocate of the High Court, said the absence of some leaders could have been due to various reasons, such as scheduling conflicts or other commitments.

"In terms of Kenya's regional influence, it's important to remember that diplomatic relations are multifaceted and go beyond a single event. Kenya has historically played a key role in the East African region and has strong ties with its neighbouring countries," Mueke said.

To maintain and enhance its regional influence, Mueke observed that Kenya should focus on strengthening bilateral relationships, fostering cooperation on shared challenges, and engaging in regional initiatives.

"However, and seemingly so, Kenya has focused more on international cooperation to the detriment of playing the leadership role of steering East Africa's regional integration," Mueke added.

On his part, political strategist and analyst Joseph Simekha said that the EAC nations are way too dependent on each other economically and socially for any one country to try and isolate the other.

"It was tried during former president Uhuru Kenyatta's time, but it failed. The problem is just “running mouths.” Our president speaks a bit too much about just about anything and everything. Public boasting and grandstanding about our successes (in comparison to other countries) should be left to lesser political rabble-rousers," Simekha said.

How should a president conduct himself

According to Simekha, a president in public should be more conciliatory, calm, friendly, and measured, except when he has to issue some threat publicly to counter some potential risk to Kenya.

Kamukama strongly defended Museveni, saying that his schedule has been tight of late.

"I can assure you that he (Museveni) can even attend seven high-profile meetings on a single day, but he will always send representatives when invited to a monumental event like Jamhuri Day. Even it happens in Uganda during national celebrations, and we don't read much from it," he said.

Kamukama reiterated that the eight EAC heads of state recently met in Arusha, Tanzania, where Somalia was admitted to the bloc.

"This just proves to you why we have a good working relationship as a region. Further, Uganda is hosting the upcoming summits of the NAM and G77 plus China, and this is yet another reason why President Museveni is busy," he added.

Meanwhile, Simekha said that he doesn’t think presidents and other leaders failing to attend an annual national event in Kenya is a big deal.

"Many have attended before, and many may attend in the future. What's there is that Kenya still retains an economic edge over her EAC partners, but their leaders are not sitting on their hands; they are working to build their economies. It won’t be any surprise for any one of the other countries to gain the lead over Kenya," Simekha said.

Mueke further regretted that Kenya is seemingly not offering leadership or having anything on the table to offer its EAC counterparts.

"This should be worrying. As EAC, we have much we can collaborate on to rescue our great region. Moving forward, Kenya should continue to pursue an active foreign policy that promotes dialogue, collaboration, and mutual understanding," said Mueke.

How Jamhuri Day national celebrations went down

The political analyst and commentator observed that by actively engaging with its neighbours, Kenya can demonstrate its commitment to regional integration, peace, and stability.

"It's also essential for Kenya to leverage its position as a regional hub for trade and investment and explore opportunities for economic cooperation and partnerships," he added.

TUKO.co.ke earlier reported that President Ruto led the country in the 60th Jamhuri Day celebrations at Uhuru Gardens.

On Tuesday, December 12, thousands of Kenyans thronged the venue early enough ahead of the celebrations.

Apart from Kenyans, other dignitaries, among them visiting heads of state, arrived at Uhuru Gardens to join Ruto in the celebrations.