Kenya is Africa’s betrayer; it is always eager to please the West

Audio By Vocalize

It is unfortunate that Kenya is always in the eye of the storm when it comes to countering the valiant efforts at decolonisation by the rest of the continent. At a time when parts of West Africa are actively dismantling long-standing French military presence and asserting a different vision of sovereignty, Kenya is stepping forward to formalise that very presence within its own borders. President William Ruto is reported to have entered into an agreement with President Emmanuel Macron, which establishes a framework for joint operations, intelligence sharing, and troop deployment within Kenya. This agreement reflects a deeper political choice when observed together with other decisions this government has made when approached by Western governments. Let us not forget that Kenya is currently doing France’s dirty work in Haiti by interfering with the sovereignty of France’s former colony. It was, therefore, probably a no-brainer for Macron to approach Ruto when he was thinking through which African nations would allow his military back.

To fully grasp the significance of this development, it is necessary to situate it within the broader transformations in the Sahel. Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have, over the past few years, taken decisive steps to expel French troops and reclaim control over their security apparatus. These actions have emerged from a growing recognition that France’s long-standing military presence, often justified through counter-terrorism narratives, functioned as a continuation of colonial influence through different means. The persistence of insecurity and frequency of coups in the region, despite decades of foreign military intervention, further eroded the legitimacy of these arrangements and, with the coming into power of three aligned leaders across the Sahel, the timing was ripe for expulsion.

The consequences for France have been significant. Its loss of strategic footholds in the Sahel has disrupted access to key geopolitical spaces and resources, while also undermining its broader influence on the continent. There was therefore a need for France to recalibrate and find a new strategy. But the fact that Kenya presents as a welcoming place for imperialists to regain their power raises difficult questions about its own trajectory within the global order. Over the past several years, the Kenyan government has steadily deepened its alignment with Western military and strategic interests, most notably through its designation as a major non-NATO ally by the United States. The agreement with France fits neatly into this pattern, reinforcing a role for Kenya as a regional security hub that facilitates external military influence on the continent.

This positioning is further complicated by Kenya’s broader geopolitical alignments, including its relationships with actors such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel. These partnerships collectively contribute to an expanding architecture of militarisation that stretches across the Horn of Africa and beyond. Kenya’s alignment with the UAE, for instance, has enabled the latter to comfortably fund the war in Sudan, whilst the former abets it by hosting Rapid Support Forces (RSF) meetings in Kenya and providing passports to RSF militants. Our close ties to Israel, on the other hand, enable the latter to establish a strategic foothold in Somaliland. Israel’s former ambassador to Kenya will now be the first to set up an embassy in Somaliland. Our modus operandi is clear now: We are the enablers of instability and recolonisation.

Kenya’s current path shows an existing tension between the desire to position itself as a stabilising force in the region and the risk of becoming an instrument through which external powers extend their influence. The developments in the Sahel demonstrate that alternative trajectories are possible, even if they are fraught with their own contradictions.

All in all, whatever choices Kenya makes now will have lasting geopolitical effects that will be a net negative on the movement towards liberation. Whilst we continue to serve our own interests in the present, we also steadily lose the trust of all nations working to decolonise themselves and be rid of Western military presence. They understand better than we do that liberation is a painful process that must be taken, but they understand too that Kenya is not on this journey with them. Kenyans must ask themselves what it profits to gain the approval of the Western world and lose the faith and trust of our Black brethren across the world.

Ms Njahira is an international lawyer

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