By Mosa Cibi
JOHANNESBURG – In a chilling display of diplomatic subservience, the administration of President William Ruto appears to have traded Kenya’s sovereign dignity and Pan-African solidarity for the status of a “preferred proxy” for the United States.
As a legal battle over the Ksh 200 billion Kenya–US health deal — formally outlined in a five-year cooperation framework between Nairobi and Washington (US State Department) and publicly acknowledged by the Kenyan presidency (President of Kenya) — raises alarm ovwr commercialization and transger of Kenyan medical data, two new controversesies have emerged that paint a devastating picture: a President who is seemingly willing to boycott his African brothers and sacrifice his own citizens to appease the whims of a foreign superpower.
The G20 boycott: Kenya turns its back on Africa
In a move that sent shockwaves through the continent last month, Kenya joined the United States in a shameful boycott of the G20 Summit in South Africa.
The boycott, spearheaded by Washington over controversial claims concerning the treatment of the Afrikaner minority — claims South Africa has strongly disputed and which have been widely debunked (NOWinSA – Data vs Fiction) — was a calculated slap in the face to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the African Union.
South Africa has also formally rejected misleading comparisons between apartheid and modern BEE legislation (as covered by OWinSA).
By choosing to stay away, Ruto didn’t merely align with the US position; he actively undermined South Africa’s historic moment as the first African nation to host the G20.
The message was unmistakable: Kenya’s emerging “America First” posture now comes at the direct expense of “Africa First”.
Sacrificed in Johannesburg: 7 Kenyans caught in the crossfire
The most humiliating chapter of this unfolding saga played out this week in Johannesburg. According to South African authorities, seven Kenyan nationals were arrested during a raid on a US-linked facility, where they were allegedly working in contravention of their visa conditions on a programme related to the processing of white Afrikaners as refugees to the United States — part of a controversial refugee pathway now under intense scrutiny (NOWinSA – US Refugee Programme Explained).
Lured, it appears, by the promise of lucrative “international” opportunities, the Kenyans were reportedly operating on tourist visas — effectively performing the controversial administrative labour of a US political programme that many South Africans regard as deeply offensive to the country’s post-apartheid journey.
The arrests have since triggered a broader diplomatic row, with South Africa deporting illegal Kenyan workers tied to the US programme. While the US State Department is busy protesting the raid, the silence from Nairobi has been deafening. One wonders, where is the Kenyan government’s protection for its own people?
Exploitation: Kenyan citizens appear to have been effectively reduced to “contract labour” for politically sensitive US projects on African soil.
Legal Abandonment: These seven Kenyans now face deportation and potential long-term entry bans – collateral damage in a diplomatic standoff intensified by Kenya’s decision to boycott the G20.
Data, sovereignty, and the new colonialism
As Kenyan citizens face legal jeopardy abroad while advancing US interests, President Ruto continues to defend the Ksh 200 billion Kenya–US health framework at home. He has dismissed concerns by the Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) and Senator Okiya Omtatah as “misinformed,” yet he remains silent on why Kenyan medical data is being bundled into a deal critics says mirrors the extractive arrangements of the colonial past.
Ruto’s insistence that the agreement is “not a loan”, for many Kenyans appears to be the ultimate gaslighting. If citizens (Kenyans) aren’t paying in cash, they are paying in compliance – with the privacy of Kenyan mothers and children becoming the hidden currency of modern diplomacy.
The bottom line: A president for which people?
President Ruto often speaks of “African solutions for African problems,” yet his actions tell a different story.
- Kenyan data is being commercialised to US health conglomerates.
- He boycotts African summits to please American donors.
- Kenyan workers are left exposed while serving as buffers for foreign interests in South Africa
This is not “bottom-up” economics; it is “kneeling-down” diplomacy. Kenya is fast becoming a pawn on a global chessboard, its citizens treated as disposable assets in pursuit of international favour. It is time the President remembers that he was elected by the people of Kenya, not the State Department in Washington. It is time the people of Kenya remove Ruto… for good!
This op-ed reflects the author’s views and analysis. NOWinSA does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed. The article is published in the public interest to encourage debate and accountability.
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