Another post from ONE’s Edith Jibunoh from the AGOA Forum in Nairobi, Kenya.

At the AGOA ministerial opening ceremony this morning, both Kenyan President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga gave speeches after Secretary Clinton’s welcoming remarks. Prime Minister Odinga reiterated much of what he spoke about on the first day, further emphasizing the need for inter-regional trade and the importance of developing an African trade agenda. He commended the leadership of Secretary Clinton, noting her ability to accept defeat in the U.S. elections and still go on to work with her former opponent. He noted that in Africa—where had said many elections are rigged—losers often do not accept defeat. This statement proceeded to cause quite a stir, as President Kibaki was scheduled to speak next. Many will recall that President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga were at odds over the disputed 2007 Kenyan elections in Kenya. Terrible post-election violence led to over 1,200 people being killed and 300,000 people being displaced from their homes. The crisis was abated when President Kibaki accepted a brokered arrangement to share power with Prime Minister Odinga in the Kenyan government.

During his remarks, President Kibaki emphasized the importance of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and said that he hoped the AGOA forum would lead to greater product diversity and a greater share of trade between Africa and the U.S. Obstacles in the way to achieving this, he said, included inadequate financing for capacity building, inefficient production techniques, stringent certification procedures and high transport costs. Kibaki then noted that Africa has undergone tremendous changes—and Kenya was certainly no exception. The country had introduced electoral reforms, strengthened media and human rights, and had begun taking steps towards a constitutional review (which could result in a new constitution within a year), bringing greater accountability to all government actions for the good of all Kenyans.

Despite these remarks by both leaders, there seemed to be a lot of skepticism in Kenya about the sincerity of the Kenyan government in ensuring that these reforms translated into real change, both locally and globally. In a private meeting between Secretary Clinton and President Kibaki following the opening ceremony, Secretary Clinton raised the issue of the local tribunal bill (which was recently squashed in parliament). This bill was meant to initiate local tribunals that would consider cases related to the post-election violence, bringing justice to the victims. Clinton insisted that these tribunals were in the best interest of Kenyans and called on the Kenyan government to follow through on their commitment. This statement then sparked off a local debate on whether or not western nations should lecture Africans (in this case Kenya) on good governance. A poll conducted by the Kenyan television network resulted in 59% of respondents calling in to say YES, and 41% calling in to say NO.

-Edith Jibunoh