President Uhuru
Kenyatta, has assured the world that his government was committed to see a
general election that is free and fair come August 2017. Speaking to a group of
British Investors in London, Uhuru said that the constitution had created
robust institutions to ensure that their is transparency during and after the
poll and that business was unlikely to be affected by the process.“We have
independent institutions such as the Judiciary and the electoral body ” .
The President told
investors affiliated to the East African Association which draws its membership
from UK companies with business interests in the region that the government
will do everything possible to see that the process is peaceful. Uhuru further
encouraged the investors to put up businesses in Kenya and help boost the country's economy.
Attending will be
European Union President Donald Tusk and European Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker. This summit follows the
G7 Summit in Japan in 2016 and the summit hosted by the EU in Brussels in 2014.It will focus on the
global economy, foreign policy, security of citizens and environmental
sustainability. The G7 summit plays an
important role in shaping global responses to global challenges, complementing
the global economic coordination carried out by the G20.
This is the first time
a Kenyan leader has been invited to the gathering and many in the international
diplomatic world consider Uhuru’s invitation a “diplomatic coup”.
“This marks the end of
the transformation process of President Kenyatta from a pariah, who was wanted
by the ICC before the 2013 election, to a respected man to go to in Africa,”
Prof Macharia Munene, a lecturer in diplomacy at USIU, said.
Yesterday State House
spokesman Manoah Esipisu confirmed the President will attend the Summit.
“The President will
honour the invitation because it is a great opportunity to place Kenya on the
global stage yet again,” he said. Since 2013, Uhuru has
travelled widely, mainly looking to reposition Kenya as one of the major
countries where the world can invest.
“Our engagement with
the world is to open doors for Kenyans across the world and also to let the
world know we are ready and committed to doing business with them,” the
President said on Tuesday during a briefing at State House Nairobi.
Kenya has played host
to various regional and world leaders in the last five years. They include
former Barack Obama, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, former South
Korean President Park Geun-hye and Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan.
Uhuru also met UK
Prime Minister Theresa May and held talks at Number 10 Downing Street, London.
He sought a pact to guarantee Kenyan exports accessed the UK market on a
duty-free quota-free basis after the country exits the European Union. At a
landmark meeting at Downing Street, the President spoke strongly about
strengthening bilateral relations and closer security cooperation, especially
in regard to Somalia.