Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has pleaded that Kenya should not be judged “too harshly” over the recent abduction and deportation of Uganda opposition leader Kizza Besigye in Nairobi.
A month before that, four Turkish asylum seekers were abducted in Nairobi and repatriated.
Mudavadi said it is important for foreigners not to cause a rift between Kenya and the countries they come from.
He declined to admit the abduction of Besigye, who is facing charges in Uganda.
“I want to state first that Uganda is a strong partner of Kenya and we want to continue maintaining strong bilateral ties with the country of Uganda and indeed all our other neighbours,” he said.
“So I would like to say that the incident that you refer to should not be used to judge us too harshly on what would be Kenya’s outcome or matters of foreign policy. We believe that the issues between us and Uganda, where there are any concerns, will be resolved diplomatically, and that is what we will do at all times.”
Mudavadi spoke during a media briefing on 60 years of Kenya’s diplomatic journey held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Nairobi.
He was flanked by Foreign Affairs PS Korir Singoei.
Mudavadi added, “We also believe that it is important that our friends and our visitors also appreciate that it’s important that we maintain good relations with all our partner states.”
He said Kenya welcomes refugees and hosts 800,000 of them at Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps, and in several urban centres. “
We shall continue playing that role and hosting fellow Africans who are in distress on our soil from time to time until things improve in their respective countries. If they so wish to go back voluntarily, they can do so, but if they don’t, they’ll continue to be in Kenya.”
He also said the government would not support any Kenyan to replace Akinwumi Adesina, the current president of the African Development Bank, scheduled to step down in September 2025.
Candidates have until January 31 to submit their applications to succeed Adesina, while the election of the next president will take place on May 29, 2025, according to the AfDB’s website.
Mudavadi said Kenya would support candidates of other countries in exchange for support of Raila Odinga, who is seeking to become the next African Union Commission chairman.
“We have high hopes that President Ruto who started this campaign will have good news when he and Raila have been selected to be members of the African Union Commission,” he said.
Mudavadi also pleaded with Kenyans to stop propaganda against the former Prime Minister, which might hurt his chances of getting the job.
The ongoing foreign affairs celebrations mark 60 years since Kenya opened its first six missions in 1964 in Peking (currently Beijing), Moscow (USSR- now Russia), London (United Kingdom), Bonn (Germany), Cairo (Egypt), New York (UN) and Paris (France).
“From this humble beginning, Kenya today has 68 missions spread across the world, championing for the country’s interests,” he said.
“These comprise of 29 missions in Africa; 16 missions
in Asia/Middle East; 14 in Europe; five in Americas and
one in Oceania. This diplomatic footprint also includes
our offices in the United Nations capitals of Nairobi,
New York, Geneva and Paris.”
