The US policy in East Africa is increasingly becoming a choice of pragmatism versus straitjacket approach to the issues of democracy and human rights.
From Kenya to Tanzania, Uganda to Rwanda, Washington has employed carrot and stick throughout President Joe Biden’s tenure, reflecting its intention to rival China’s interests in the region, while seeming to uphold its traditional values of democracy and human rights.
In Tanzania, where the US had been reversing some of the stringent measures imposed on the John Magufuli administration, Washington recently came hard on Dodoma when allegations of abductions and brutalisation of politicians and civilians by suspected security agents emerged.
Michael Battle, US Ambassador to Tanzania, defied President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s warning on interference, insisting that the US would keep speaking on the matter as long as they remained partners.
"As long as we remain Tanzania's partner, we will always speak openly and honestly on these principles,” Mr Battle said in Dar es Salaam. “We will not back away or hold back. It is an obligation fundamental and paramount to human dignity and human respect."
In contrast, in Kenya, Washington backed President William Ruto’s administration, which has been accused of similar transgressions. It elevated Kenya to a major non-NATO ally, a position that could grant Nairobi an opportunity to buy some specialised military equipment from the US.
Recently, President Ruto met with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken who praised Ruto for sending police troops to Haiti to help quell gang violence there, but reminded him of the pledge to deal with abductions and police brutality.
“The Secretary underscored our shared democratic values, including on implementation of the public anti-corruption and police accountability commitments President Ruto undertook in response to recent protests,” said Mathew Miller, US State Department Spokesperson. “The Secretary affirmed our ongoing commitment to strengthening the ties between our two nations.”
The US came under criticism when took time to condemn police brutality, including shooting of Kenya’s youth protesters. One reason, observers said at the time, was the lack of broad consensus on how to frame the statements, often issued jointly with other Western countries. As the draft circulated, sources said some countries declined to sign on, delaying the pronouncement.
As the number of deaths increased, they issued a joint statement calling for restraint on the part of the police while steering clear of the tax issues that had caused the protests.
The way Washington responded to Kenya’s case, argues David Monda, professor of political science at the City University of New York, reflected both the political and diplomatic capital the US has invested in the Ruto administration, as well as the geostrategic entanglement President Biden’s government has with Kenya, compared withTanzania.
“Biden has invested political capital in framing Ruto and Kenya more broadly as an example of democratic governance in the region while also touting the vibrancy of the Kenyan democracy during the May State visit,” Prof Monda told The EastAfrican.
“It would be politically and diplomatically untenable for the US to turn around almost immediately and condemn Ruto for what, in many quarters, was the unexpected explosion of the Gen-Z protests. The US has not spent such political or diplomatic capital on Samia Suluhu in Tanzania and therefore feels more at ease criticising the human rights abuses in Dar.”
After President Ruto withdrew the controversial Finance Bill 2024, Blinken placed a call to him, praising him for the decision, but also emphasising on civil liberties. Later, the US sent in Uzra Zeya, Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, to emphasise the point on civil liberties, and impunity and corruption.
That was a tactical move informed by geopolitics, argues Prof Peter Kagwanja, CEO of the Africa Policy Institute. Compared with Tanzania, he said, the US sees Kenya as a critical partner that it has also helped equip and train its security agencies.
“The geopolitics of the region between the US and China have played out. They play out in terms of the training of the police, military and other security agencies.
“The US and the UK have had some kind of monopoly in training security forces in most countries across Africa. But in Tanzania, they have a stronger history with China,” he told The EastAfrican.
“Kenya is more leaning to the West as seen in the way they deployed troops to Haiti. It is more of an ideological issue. The US took its time to comment on Gen Z and when it did the statement wasn’t forceful. In Tanzania, it has come fast.”
The US, and Biden, said it will seek to strengthen business ties with Africa, and consider the continent as “equals.”
Monda agreed, noting that Kenya has a bigger role globally, where it has also has played to Washington’s tunes, including condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when most African countries abstained from taking sides.
“This is important in Biden's foreign policy, which he highlighted in his UN speech to emphasise the need to protect democracy, implying the threat of autocracy,” Prof Monda explained.
“Secondly, and related to this is Kenya's risky step of bailing out the US on Haiti, thousands of Haitian refugees desperately trying to get to Florida from Haiti would have put Biden (and Kamala's election bid) in jeopardy, particularly with Donald Trump’s xenophobic and anti-immigrant rhetoric, which many Americans tie to the poor management of the border by Biden.”
As such, Ruto has helped them out by accepting to share the burden of securing Haiti, a costly public good the Biden Administration just does not want to get involved in at this time, while Tanzania has no such commitments to the US.
“The CCM [Tanzania's ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party] actually has very close ties to the Russians and Chinese that date back to Julius Nyerere and the Cold War,” the don said.
The US strategy toward Sub-Saharan Africa, the White House says, “represents a reframing of Africa’s importance to US national security interest.” Supporting trade, manufacturing and technology are some of the pillars. But it also says it work to sustain democratic values, including transparency and accountability.
“At the same time, we acknowledge that Africa’s potential will continue to be challenged as long as deadly conflicts divide societies, corruption impedes economic progress, food insecurity heightens the risk of famine and malnutrition, and repression stifles human rights and democratic expression.”
It promises to work with civil society, regional blocs just as much as it intends to collaborate with governments to enhance their capacity to deal with challenges of security and stability.
It will condemn countries deemed to be supporting insurgents, but it will also help those governments deal with the threats.
In the DR Congo conflict, for instance, the US has often accused Rwanda of backing M23 rebels, which Kigali denies. But it has also worked with Rwanda to improve policing against security threats on its soil.
