Category Archives: Kenya

Reading the Kenya material in the DOJ’s response to date to Congressionally mandated Epstein file release

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A lot to come to grips with in terms of Kenya’s role as a playground for international elites, often pretending to do “philanthropy” while playing, investing and intriguing.

Back in 2019 I took note of the situation but I did not anticipate then that someday the Justice Department would release perhaps half their records seized from and related to Epstein;

For example –

From: Sultan Bin Sulayem

Sent: Friday, October 24, 2014 10:41 PM

To: Jeffrey Epstein

Subject: Kenya

Attachments: IMG_6878.1PG; Untitled attachment 00010.txt; IMG_6879JPG; Untitled attachment

00013.txt; IMG_6880JPG; Untitled attachment 00016.txt

I am in Mombasa had a three hour meeting with president Uhuru Kenyata we ar= going to build a big logistic park to

serve Kenya south Sudan Uganda centr=l African republic and Rawanda Sultan

————/

To: jeevacationeNmaitcom[jeevacation©gmail.com]

Cc:

From: Peggy Siegal

Sent Mon 5/11/2009 9:32:50 PM

Subject: Kenya

Title: Kenya

As Paula just mentioned • the girls not only showed up for the conference call• but are now totally excited about going.

Sandy Cunningham knows exactly what to do and is giving the girls a few choices…but has them interning all over

Africa. Our luck, they will bring home Masai warriors…

We arc all kissing the ground you walk on and the African plains the girls arc about to ride on.

xoxo Peggy

——/

From: Lauren C <

Sent: Monday, April 24, 2017 1:32 PM

To: Soon-Yi Previn

Cc: Jeffrey Epstein

Subject: Bechet’s Habitat for Humanity Trip

Hi,

Bechet’s trip will start in Nairobi, Kenya (that’s where they will fly into.) She will then go to =b class=””>Homa Bay,

Kenya, the town they will be building in. A =escription from Google: Homa Bay is bay and town on the south shore of Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria, in western Kenya. The mayor of Homa Bay city is Veronica Achieng’ ohana.

Itinerary

• Day 1, welcome: Fly into Nairobi, Kenya, where Habitat for Humanity staff will pick you up at the airport. Meet your team over dinner.

• Day 2, Orientation: Habitat staff will introduce you to their sophisticated work across Kenya, which includes microloans and health programs in addition to building. Travel to your host community near Homa Bay.

• Days =-6, Build: Build new houses or housing repairs. One day will include a cultural activity, such as a tour, cooking lesson or visit to a natural site. At night, reflect with your team and enjoy free time.

• Day 7, Celebrate: Build, then wrap up =onstruction at a farewell celebration with your partner family and neighbors.

• Day 8, Reflect: Drive back to Nairobi. At the final team dinner, reflect on your experience and what it means.

• Day 9, Goodbyes: depart for home or independently continue your travel in Africa.

Lauren

Lauren Cheung

Assistant to Woody Allen

MANHATTAN FILM CENTER

575 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10065

———-/

From: Lesley Groff

To: Darren Indyke

Subject: Jeffrey’s 2nd Passport

Date: Wed, 01 May 2013 16:56:07 +0000

Attachments: Scan_14.pdf

Jeffrey wants his 2nd passport renewed…he responded with below:

kenya, south africa, china june 1- 30

I am having an itinerary made with Amex to Nairobi, Kenya on June 1, Cape Town, South Africa on June 11 and on to Beijing, China on June 18, back to NY arriving June 29(sound good!?)

I am also filling out other forms that need to be signed by JE…can you please tweak the below letter so it will represent what JE is and what company he is president of and etc. with the towns and dates I have provided?

Raila leaves the race . . .

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Raila Odinga Kenya president campaign

[Update: since I have not been actively writing here for several months, I may have been a bit hasty in offering here an assessment of Raila’s immediate legacy in current Kenyan politics upon hearing the news of his unfortunate passing from heart failure in India. Those who grew up with Raila’s role in opposing dictatorship through brutal detention and have stayed continuously emotionally engaged with Kenya over the years—especially Kenyans, who do not have the option of pulling back as I have as an American —will feel the weight of a mighty tree falling and the sudden change of light, landscape and horizon. In other words, this post may have been a bit “too soon” as well as superficial. I will endeavor to do more justice to Raila’s impact ahead after the initial memorials.]

[See also the eulogy and remembrance in The Kenya Times from former US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger who served through the 2006-07 campaign and election and PEV, the peace deal and the constitutional referendum under Government of National Unity during Kibaki’s second term. And Jeffrey Gettleman remembering Raila campaigning in 2007 to be denied by the blatant rigging.

Raila’s primary definitive legacy is Kenya’s 2010 Constitution, negotiated as a result of his 2007 campaign which I believe clearly garnered the most votes and led him to the temporary but critical post of Prime Minister for Kibaki’s second term from 2008-2013 as part of the February 28 peace deal between Raila and Kibaki.

The peace deal did not result in the fully formed power sharing contemplated but it was enough to get to a reform Constitution through the elite establishment gauntlet so long as the sole executive power of the presidency was retained (in other words, the Prime Minister position would go away). Devolution, the Supreme Court and many rights that we can hope will eventually come to fruition for Kenyans did result and have created real change.

For my explanation of Raila’s 2007 election, aside from many blog posts categorized and tagged accordingly, see my piece in The Elephant: “The Debacle of 2007: How Kenyan Politics Was Frozen and an Election Stolen With US Connivance.”

Raila’s other legacy is the enduring ODM party itself. The party unfortunately has been in jeopardy in recent years as being without a clear identity with Raila’s handshakes with first Uhuru Kenyatta, then William Ruto. Collaboration with Kenyatta had a clear rationale in achieving Kenyatta’s support for Raila and running mate Martha Karua, intending to stop a Ruto succession. The recent support for Ruto, however, heading into a 2027 re-election campaign, has been hard to square with the notions of the Orange Democratic Movement advertised over the years.

It has been awhile now since Raila was carrying the torch as a reformist leader himself and I will hope that this legacy can now come to greater fruition with younger generations, through a re-tooled ODM and new avenues to compete with ossified elite capture.

See from Africa Report, “Raila Odinga: the man who lost every election but won Kenya’s democracy.”


Condolences to the famiky and their many friends and supporters.

Third Rubio-Ruto call

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The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tammy Bruce:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto to discuss the ongoing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the unacceptable capture of Goma and Bukavu by the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group. They emphasized that there is no military solution to the conflict and called for an immediate ceasefire. Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to push for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.

How many X accounts and subscriptions does the United States Government pay for?

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Let’s ask President Trump to direct DOGE, which we are now told via court filing, he runs in lieu of Elon Musk, to investigate?

Republican senators remaining on Board of IRI following Rubio’s resignation to become Secretary of State are silent on takedown of USAID and NED — both as Senators and as Board members

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Hard to understand why Senator Sullivan continues to serve as IRI Board Chair given that the Senate has not even had hearings relating to the “woodchippering” of USAID, the freeze of State Department foreign assistance funding and the separate impoundment of appropriated funds for NED.

Nor is he reportedly willing to speak in any detail to the press or offer any public defense of NED or IRI under attack from Elon Musk and his X platform and laying off most staff due to the defunding.

What is a Board Chairman for?

The others who sit in both the Senate and on the IRI Board are Tom Cotton, Joni Ernst and Lindsey Graham.

All USAID implementation partners are in a terrible conflict not of their own making starting from the Musk “woodchippering” of USAID and accompanying assault through X on the weekend after the Inauguration. But IRI is also one of the four NED “core institutions” and a “Government Organized NGO” pursuant to legislation. IRI and it Board Members themselves are targets of the X-led digital smear campaign in support of the elimination of U.S. foreign assistance. If IRI leadership is unwilling to speak up to defend IRI, who else should be expected to.

Why should it fall on people like me, as private citizens, and in my case one with a mixed experience working for IRI years ago, to advocate for the underlying value and values served by democracy assistance and “mending not ending” the enterprise?

Of course it does need to be noted that IRI does raise private donations as a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization. During my time, no private funds were available for our East Africa program activities as opposed to things such as Board activities or Washington approved extras that were not allowable costs to the Government. So the Board may be able to sustain itself separately from the actual democracy assistance programs?

[Updated] Ruto term nears halfway point as USAID is strangled and Kenyan politics faces disruption from loss at Raila AUC vote Saturday

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Update 2-15: Raila fell short to Djibouti’s candidate in the 7th round of voting.

If Raila Odinga doesn’t win his election for Chairman of the African Union Commission on Saturday then Ruto on one hand and the ODM Party on the other will have to face the question of how to repurpose Raila within Kenya’s political establishment. Will he return to the customary role as opposition presidential candidate? Will he and Ruto reach a deal on a new alternative role to keep him and his key loyalists “onside” with the Ruto presidency?

Is there any chance that he would take some “senior statesman” status within ODM and/or the opposition more broadly and not move toward a run for the Presidency in 2027?

What will be the impact of the demise of US democracy assistance, being cemented as this is written, have on the hugely delayed preparations for the 2027 elections?

Mzalendo reports today on claims that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission—intended to be a permanent Government of Kenya institution under the 2010 Constitution—may have a selection panel in place by April of this year to start the process of selecting Commissioners. USAID has been the leading donor for process for decades.

See this piece from The Standard:

Addis setback, a political turning point for both opposition and government

He returns home empty handed, leaving his admirers divided and his detractors wary. There are those who want the Raila to take up his role of calling the government back to order.www.standardmedia.co.ke

Raila Odinga Kenya president campaign

Secretary Rubio’s Call with Kenyan President Ruto

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Readout

January 27, 2025

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tammy Bruce:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto to underscore the value of the U.S.-Kenya bilateral relationship and thank him for Kenya’s leadership of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti.  The Secretary also reiterated the importance of Kenya’s role in promoting regional peace and security in Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and the DRC.

Meanwhile, Michelle Gavin at CFR calls out “accountability gone missing” for Ruto in Kenya

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Accountability gone missing in Kenya

“In the wake of last year’s Gen Z protests, Kenyan President William Ruto had two choices. He could accept the youthful population’s rejection of business as usual and get serious about cleaning up corruption in government, aiming to ride the wave of enthusiasm for change to usher in a new political paradigm based on delivering for voters rather than knitting together a coalition of self-serving elites. Or he could revert to darker days of Kenyan history, using political violence to suppress dissent and cow the public. He chose the latter path.

. . . .

The result is, as the Kenyan Conference of Catholic Bishops put it, an attempt to make everyone complicit in a “culture of lies.” In a statement issued last November, the group lamented, “Basically it seems that truth does not exist, and if it does, it is only what the Government says.” It’s a political scenario that deserves close watching. How does a society that has lost faith in its political class but not necessarily in its own ability to affect change react to obvious untruths coming from official sources, to threats and violence, and to an attempt to distort the very idea of truth? How can Kenyans continue to center the ideas that energized a nationwide movement for change while contending with old attempts to divide them and this latest intentional shirking of responsibility at the very top? The answers will matter a great deal to Kenya’s future, and to the prospects for democracies in peril far beyond Kenya’s borders.”

Ruto made his big career move from the 2008 Post Election Violence and being a target of the failed attempts at accountability. So no right to be surprised.

Old Party Office in Kibera
Solo 7–Kibera

Ruto consolidates power by switching Deputy Presidents in spite of spirit of 2010 Constitution and his own unpopularity

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By switching Deputy Presidents from Rigathi Gachagua to Kithure Kindiki, William Ruto has strengthened his position to avoid a serious challenge to a second term from 2027.

Prior to the 2010 reform Constitution resulting from the 2008 “Peace Deal” and National Accord as a consequence of the Post Election Violence from Mwai Kibaki’s rigged re-election, Kenya had Vice Presidents who were understood to serve at the President’s pleasure.

This was a core feature of one-party KANU rule under Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi. Mwai Kibaki himself served as Moi’s initial Vice President in 1978 and continued in office as one-party KANU rule moved from de facto to de jure. In 1988 he was precipitously demoted by Moi.

After the Kibaki-controlled Election Commission of Kenya gave a re-election certificate to Kibaki and his dusk swearing in that evening of December 30, 2007, Kibaki appointed “third party” (ODM-K) presidential candidate Kalonzo Musyoka as his new Vice President (Kenya’s 10th) and Minister of Home Affairs on January 8 as the country was engulfed in violence by Kibaki’s security forces, by organized ethnic militias and spontaneously. The Musyoka V.P. appointment accompanied a “Half Cabinet” that included key Kibaki supporters such as Uhuru Kenyatta.

The sitting Vice President from Kibaki’s re-election, Moody Awori, was more or less ignored.

During Kibaki’s second term, with the rest of the Cabinet filled out under the National Accord, Musyoka as Vice President had ambiguous status relative to the new Prime Minister, Raila Odinga.

When the final version of the proposed new constitution emerged from the backroom negotiations at Naivasha between the factions in the so-called Government of National Unity, the positions of Prime Minister and Vice President were eliminated in favor of a Deputy President. William Ruto was the primary leader of opposition to the new draft constitution in the 2010 referendum but carried only his core ethnic base and lost by a landslide nationwide.

Elected as one half of the UhuRuto “coalition of the killing” (by reputation and as alleged in the failed ICC prosecution) in 2013 with a tiny official margin over the requisite 50% (as determined by the IEBC in the wake of the corrupt voter identification and poll book procurements and failure of the electronic results transmission system), Ruto became Kenya’s first Deputy President. And perhaps functionally it’s last, so long as Presidents control Parliament and are willing to use impeachment to “switch horses”.

UhuruRuto Kenya 2013 billboard Nairobi

See The Star, “Nyoro faces axe as Ruto plots major parliament purge” to reward allies and punish independents following impeachment.

A good piece explaining “Why Kenya’s protests are different this time”.

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Happy Saba Saba Day.

A range of Kenyan voices have been saying that the current “Gen Z” protest movement has already generated an irrevocable shift in Kenyan politics and/or even Kenyan society.

I suspect that veteran professional “Kenya watchers” and analysts in interested foreign capitols are not yet sure about that.

Here is a good piece in The Conversation by Owino Okech at SOAS that I find useful in assessing the durability of the movement: “Kenya’s protests are different this time: 3 things that make it harder for government to crush them.”