After his inauguration on 13 September, Kenya’s President William Ruto had a decision to make: Should he double down on Kenya’s resolve to back Ukraine in its war against the Russian invasion, or choose a more nuanced path like many of his African peers, who did not like being pushed to choose between Moscow or the US-backed alliance supporting Kiev?
In the end, Ruto has remained a constant supporter of the international rules-based order. “Any violation of the UN Charter is a threat – today it is Russia and Ukraine, you never know who it may be tomorrow,” Ruto tells The Africa Report. “A threat to peace anywhere is a threat to peace everywhere.”
Martin Kimani, Kenya’s Ambassador to the UN, who kickstarted a new direction in Kenya’s foreign policy, says: “Kenya, and almost every African country, was birthed by the ending of empire.” Kimani equates Russia’s disregard for Ukraine’s
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