Abstract
Initially, it seemed as though President Obama was chiefly concerned about how to improve Kenya’s governance standards. Misunderstandings about the US’s true intentions shaped relations between Kenya and the US in Obama’s first term. Later, Obama’s long-term legacy project for Africa emerged and matters of security and economic growth took precedence. This chapter makes two broad arguments about Obama’s legacy in Kenya. First, in the short term, President Obama was instrumental in reviving Kenya–US economic relations. Second, Obama’s long-term legacy will be defined by the success or failure of his signature legacy project in Africa, the Power Africa Initiative. Beyond this, Obama will be remembered for shifting the ideational and financial foundations of US–Kenya relations from the humanitarianism exemplified by PEPFAR to a more productive sector minded model where US grants are directed to vitalizing business and entrepreneurship.
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Notes
- 1.
Barack Obama. “An Honest Government, a Hopeful Future.” August 28, 2006. Speech delivered at the University of Nairobi. Accessed April 25, 2017. http://obamaspeeches.com/088-An-Honest-Government-A-Hopeful-Future-Obama-Speech.htm
- 2.
BBC. “Kenya Declares Holiday for Obama,” BBC News. 2008. Accessed May 11, 2017. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7710394.stm
- 3.
Ibid.
- 4.
Wadhams, Nick. “Kenya: US Ambassador’s Crusade Against Corruption,” Time Magazine, January 28, 2011. Accessed April 19, 2017. http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2044615,00.html
- 5.
Agina, Ben. “Why Kibaki Is Angry with Obama,” Standard Digital, September 27, 2009. Accessed April 17, 2017. https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/1144024999/why-kibaki-is-angry-with-obama
- 6.
Wadhams, Nick. Ibid.
- 7.
Joselow, Gabe. “US Official Says Kenyan’s Elections Have ‘Consequences,’” Voice of Africa, February 7, 2013. Accessed April 20, 2017. http://www.voanews.com/a/us-official-says-kenya-elections-have-consequences/1599063.html
- 8.
Harris, Grant. “Obama’s Message to the People of Kenya,” The White House, February 5, 2013. Accessed April 2, 2017. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2013/02/05/president-obamas-message-people-kenya
- 9.
Joselow, Gabe. Ibid.
- 10.
Cordon George, Jr. “A Very Different Barack Obama Returns to Kenya,” The Atlantic Digital, July 23, 2015. Accessed May 3, 2017. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/07/a-very-different-barack-obama-returns-to-kenya/442857/
- 11.
Matheng, Oliver, Siringi, Samuel, and Mugony, David. “Obama Bonus Is Coming to Kenya,” Daily Nation, November 7, 2008. Accessed May 11, 2017. http://www.nation.co.ke/news/1056-488472-kn656rz/index.html
- 12.
United States Census Bureau. “Trade in Goods with Kenya.” 2017. Accessed May 11, 2017. https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c7790.html
- 13.
From the author’s interviews with the Kenya Tourist Board personnel, 3 February 2017.
- 14.
Gao, Lele. “Market Development Factors for American Travel to Kenya,” CFS Honors Program Undergraduate Theses. 2009. Paper 12.
- 15.
Press Release. “FAA Announces Aviation Safety Ratings for Kenya.” February 27, 2017. Accessed April 3, 2017. https://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=21454
- 16.
Wafula, Caroline. “Kenya to Wait Longer for Direct Flights to US as Security and Protocol Issues Are Sorted,” Daily Nation, 26 July. Accessed May 11, 2017 http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Obama-Kenya-US-direct-flights/1056-2809092-brxodr/index.html
- 17.
Wafula, Paul. “Inside the sh100 Billion Basket of Goodies Obama Unveiled for Kenya and Africa,” Standard Digital, July 26, 2015. Accessed April 20, 2017. https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000170434/inside-the-sh100-billion-basket-of-goodies-obama-unveiled-for-kenya-and-africa
- 18.
United States Trade and Investment Agency. USTDA Revitalizes Kenya Program with Six Power Africa Grants’ USTDA. Accessed May 9, 2017. https://www.ustda.gov/news/press-releases/2016/ustda-revitalizes-kenya-program-six-power-africa-grants
- 19.
Jackson J.K. “US Direct Investments Abroad: Trends and Current Issues,” Congressional Research Service Report RS21118. Washington. 2017.
- 20.
Ibid.
- 21.
White House. Security Governance Initiative Report. Washington. 2015.
- 22.
Godec, Robert. “Potential U.S. Military Sale to Kenya in Support of the Fight Against Terrorism,” Press Release US Embassy in Kenya, February 18, 2017. Accessed April 9, 2017. https://ke.usembassy.gov/statement-ambassador-robert-f-godec/
- 23.
Bush, George Walker. “PEPFAR Saves Millions of Lives in Africa. Keep It Fully Funded,” The Washington Post, April 7, 2017. Accessed April 19, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-w-bush-pepfar-saves-millions-of-lives-in-africa-keep-it-fully-funded/2017/04/07/2089fa46-1ba7-11e7-9887-1a5314b56a08_story.html?utm_term=.d9a940d6383f
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Munyi, E.N. (2018). Obama Delivers for Kenya: On Business. In: Maass, M. (eds) The World Views of the Obama Era. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61076-4_4
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