(Nairobi) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Africans to remain vigilant in the face of growing threats to democracy, opening his African tour on Wednesday in Kenya, where he is also expected to discuss the conflict ravaging neighboring Ethiopia.
Before a meeting with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Antony Blinken spoke on Wednesday morning with Kenyan civil society officials, with whom he discussed how to prevent “bad players” from testing institutions. democratic.
“Over the past decade, we have witnessed what some call a democratic recession,” he said at the meeting, which included rights defenders, an election observer and a union leader.
“Even dynamic democracies like Kenya are under pressure, especially at election time,” said the US foreign minister.
“We have seen the same challenges here as those we see in many parts of the world: disinformation, political violence, voter intimidation, voter corruption,” he added.
This African tour, which will then take him to Nigeria and Senegal, focuses on the themes of democracy, climate change and support for African efforts to fight COVID-19.
But this trip will also be an opportunity to address the attempts to resolve peacefully the war that has ravaged Ethiopia for more than a year.
In recent weeks, in the face of a recent escalation in the conflict between the federal army and rebels in the Tigray region, the United States has increased calls for an end to hostilities and for talks.
The United States has criticized Ethiopia and imposed sanctions on this longtime ally, denouncing human rights violations and obstacles to the delivery of food aid in Tigray, where famine threatens hundreds of thousands of people.
“No blank check”
The US Secretary of State has acknowledged that threats to democracy also hang over the United States, where a host of supporters of then-incumbent Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in Washington on January 6 in the United States. goal to reverse the outcome of the election that brought Joe Biden to the White House.
“We have seen how fragile our own democracy can be,” he said.
Elections in Kenya are regularly marked by deadly violence.
The country is due to hold its presidential election in August 2022 and this poll bears “all the signs of a very contested and violent election”, warned Irungu Houghton, the executive director of Amnesty International in Kenya, who participated in the meeting. with Blinken.
Mr Houghton called for ensuring that President Kenyatta “does not use the police, the judiciary and other institutions as a weapon”.
While President Kenyatta, who visited Addis Ababa on Sunday, is an important partner in resolving the Ethiopian crisis, “it is important that America continues to be vigilant, attentive and engaged and does not give a blank -seing in Kenya, ”Houghton said.
Chinese influence
Africa is the last continent Antony Blinken has visited since taking office, although President Biden has pledged to pay close attention to Africa, setting himself apart from his predecessor Donald Trump.
Mr. Biden pledged actions to promote American values globally in the face of the growing influence of China, which is increasing investments on the continent and showing less scrutiny on political practices.
Symbol of this Chinese presence, the procession of Mr. Blinken crossed Nairobi near an expressway under construction, funded by Beijing, and the US Secretary of State is to meet the Kenyan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Raychelle Omamo, in a hotel. including a conference room reserved by the Kenya-China Chamber of Commerce.
Antony Blinken will travel to Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa on Thursday, whose authorities are criticized by Washington for their attitude towards human rights, especially during the police crackdown on a major protest movement in October 2020.
He will then go to Senegal, considered an example of democratic stability in Africa.