Rob Macaire

UK and Kenya

Hello, and welcome to this new blog. I’m delighted to say that lots of British diplomats from the Foreign Secretary to British Embassy colleagues in Harare and other parts of the world are now blogging: I’m pleased to be one of them.

In this blog I’ll be talking about some of the things that are high on the agenda for ordinary Kenyans, and for those of us who are friends of Kenya. Things like the economic situation, governance and the fight against corruption. And also trade and investment, development co-operation, and threats from crime, terrorism and regional instability. But what do you want me to cover?. Blogging allows for a two way conversation, unlike mainstream media.  We want to learn from your perspectives and ideas.  And I hope this blog will help you understand our approach and contribute to the debate about foreign policy.  I’ll look to respond to your common ideas, comments and questions.

I’ve been British High Commissioner in Kenya for about five months now. I have met a huge range of people in this fascinating, welcoming country. But I hope that by using this tool I can reach more, and above all hear views from a wider range of people (and for those of us using local internet connections, let’s hope for improvement in the speed and ease of connectivity!).

Let me say at the start that my blog won’t get into issues of Kenyan party politics. That’s not my job. But when it comes to the reform agenda that the government signed up to in the National Accord  a year ago, we in the UK, like others in the international community, have been strong supporters. We’ll continue to do what we can to help it stay on course. Because we believe that it’s not only a unique opportunity, but it’s absolutely essential if this country is to be saved from a return to the chaos of early 2008.

So when we see it going off track, as it seems to have done with the failure to create an independent tribunal into the post-election violence as recommended in the Waki report, we will say so. Like other heads of mission with whom I made a joint statement about this,  I think that an independent  tribunal with an international prosecutor and judges and strong witness protection systems would be a good way to get justice for the victims of that violence, and deter people from repeating it.  The ICC in The Hague is another route for seeking justice, but  not without its drawbacks.  But I know lots of people think differently.  What do you think?

Posted at 11:29 17 March 2009 by Rob Macaire  |  Comments[20]