Cameron and President Mohamud of
Somalia shake hands for the revered photo-shoot between visiting
dignitaries and the British premier at No 10 Downing Street. There was
no such thing for Kenyan and Ugandan leaders who are largely responsible
for bringing peace to Somalia.
By: By Henry D Gombya for the London Evening Post.
The United Kingdom today stands
accused of ’humiliating’ the leaders of two countries that have made
peace possible in what was until only recently a failed Horn of Africa
country that comes under the name of Somalia, by making sure that they
were not photographed alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron.
After the failure of what was once the
world’s only super power, the United States of America (USA) to bring
order to a battle-ridden Somalia, and after the failure of Ethiopia
under the leadership of the late Prime Minister Zenawi to do the same,
in came Uganda under the leadership of President Yoweri Museveni who
sent in Ugandan soldiers to take on the Somali fighting tribes,
especially the al Qaeda-leaning Al Shabaab.
While other countries like Burundi have
also played their part in stabilising Somalia, Ugandan’s leading role
is unmistakeable. And less than two years ago, Kenya joined in when
former President Mwai Kibaki ordered his troops to take on the Al
Shabaab. It could be fair to argue that without the input that these
East African countries have displayed, Somalia would today still be a
failed state with warring armies controlling different parts of the
country.
At yesterday’s Somalia conference, the
Kenyan and Ugandan leaders were largely ignored and British officials
went out of their way to make sure that British Prime Minister David
Cameron was not photographed with any of them. And with Kenyan President
Uhuru Kenyatta, it was certainly embarrassing that a leader who has
just come to power through a rare free and fair election in Africa could
not be offered a photo opportunity with the British Prime Minister
after he (Kenyatta) made Britain the first country he has accepted to
visit since his election last March.
While Kenya’s leading English daily, the
Daily Nation ran with a headline that Mr Kenyatta had held talks with
the British premier, it was quite surprising that not a single photo
appeared anywhere to confirm this meeting. Frantic searches by this
online newspaper in the Downing Street photo library as well as that of
the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) did not find any
evidence that Mr Kenyatta or President Museveni had been given a photo
opportunity, if only for Britain to thank them for sacrificing their
soldiers to bring peace to Somalia, something that the mighty USA failed
to do and what no British Prime Minister dared to get involved in.
The only evidence we found that Mr
Kenyatta had held talks with the British Government was when the FCO
sent us a press release stating that British Foreign Minister William
Hague had held talks with Mr Kenyatta. There was no mention at all of
similar talks having been held with Mr Cameron. And as is usually the
case when such a high profile visitor meets either the Foreign Secretary
of the Prime Minister, a photo was indeed available showing Kenyatta
sitting down with Mr Hague in Lancaster House where the Somali
Conference was held. There was neither a press statement regarding the
meeting, nor any photo that this meeting had taken place.
We were also able to find that while Kenyatta and Museveni were
ignored, Somali President was feted and there were plenty of photo
opportunities accorded to him and the British Prime Minister. While
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was photographed in front of the famous
entrance to the British Prime Minister’s official residence, No 10
Downing Street and was also pictured arriving at Lancaster House with Mr
Cameron, the only photo available to the media was that of President
Kenyatta being welcomed to Lancaster House by the British Africa
Minister Phillip Hammond. There were also other photos of Kenyatta at
the Somalia Conference but in most of them, those photographed with him
had been carefully edited out.
While President Kenyatta was largely
ignored by his British hosts, he did not show any ill-feelings and was
seen throughout the day in what one can describe as a jovial mood. On
the other hand, the Ugandan leader who has been in power since 1986,
showed obvious signs that his long stay in power may be taking its toll.
He looked tired and uninterested in whatever was going on around him.
In a press release after meeting the
Kenyan President, Mr Hague said both countries had discussed how best to
support the Somali government. Mr Hague added that Britain recognised
the vital role Kenya had played in contributing troops to the African
Union forces and was also aware Kenya’s role in offering refuge to
Somali refugees.
Referring to the International Criminal
Court (ICC) case that is hanging around Mr Kenyatta’s neck, Mr Hague
acknowledged ‘President Kenyatta’s commitment to the judicial process’.
Speaking to the press after the meeting he said: “I expressed gratitude
for Kenya’s significant contribution to bringing security to Somalia
through the AU Mission in Somalia, and welcomed the progress made in
recent discussions between regional leaders and the Somali President on
building political stability in Somalia.”
Mr Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto
are under indictment by the ICC for crimes against humanity following
the disturbances in the 2007 general election where an estimated 1100
people were killed in the aftermath of the disputed results. Both deny
the allegations and have vowed to clear their
names.http://www.kenya-today.com/global/presidents-uhuru-kenyatta-and-museveni-humiliated-in-london
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