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Rashomon and Hillary Clinton in Nairobi: Account of Crime Differs
By Kaufmann | August 5, 2009 2 Comments »
Rashomon was a path-breaking movie made by the brilliant director Akira Kurosawa in 1950. Set in medieval Japan, it tells the tale of a crime, as seen by four different witnesses, including the crime perpetrator and victims as well. Each witness account is totally different from the other. The message that there is no superior way of viewing reality, no one holder of an absolute truth, potently comes across through exceptional film-making.
The notion of “Rashomon” today refers generally to when there is no consensus on the “truth” around an event. I was just reminded by it when scanning the world news…
Hillary Clinton has just landed in Nairobi, Kenya, where she will be opening the Agoa Forum on Wednesday. Agoa stands for Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, and was introduced in 2000 by then President Bill Clinton.
First, witness two vastly different media accounts of the same visit to Kenya that is now getting started…
One such ‘witness account’ by allafrica.com, which reports that: “Mrs Clinton’s presence signals the level of support and endorsement the new administration of President Barack Obama is according what is by far the most friendly trade deal ever offered by the US to any region of the world… The forum is an annual event but the choice of Kenya as the host and the high-level US representation reflects a recognition of Kenya’s strategic importance as the region’s economic linchpin…”
Indeed, some are interpreting Hillary Clinton’s visit as a rapid way of making up to Kenya (and Nigeria) after Obama, Kenya’s prodigal son, snubbed the government by opting to visit Ghana instead in his presidential visit.
That much for the account of one ‘media witness’.
Now onto a different ‘media witness’ account, which is online in the daily Standard of Nairobi. At first one imagines that it is referring to a totally different visit, time and place. Wrong. Like in Rashomon, it is the same visit by Hillary, same place, now. The article is entitled: “Clinton lands as US breathes fire”. Worth reading here, and so that nobody thinks I am making this up, it states (among others):
“US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton landed in style as Washington and London warned Kenya’s Cabinet they would hold accountable those who frustrate reform agenda and punishment of post-election violence suspects. US ambassador Michael Ranneberger set the stage for Mrs Clinton’s arrival, shadowed by the many calls by President Barack Obama to Kenya to hurry up reform agenda and end to impunity, by releasing a statement coached in hard language and with limited options for Kenya.
“The British High Commissioner Rob Macaire in addition revealed the combined number of ministers, top civil servants, and entrepreneurs banned from stepping on British soil because of their conduct and dealings now stands at 20. Also training his gun on Kenya was Obama’s Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnie Carson who said Mrs Clinton would speak on Kenya’s governance problems, corruption, human rights and impunity. Carson said: ‘Under the watchful eye of Kenya’s long serving Attorney General (Amos Wako) — a man who has served loyally under President Kibaki and President Moi — not one government official or serving politician has been successfully prosecuted for corruption in two decades.’
The article continues: “Traditionally, the rest of the 27 European Union states reciprocates visa bans on foreigners by one of their members, which raises the prospect some Kenyan ministers, despite their official assignment, would never be allowed to step in EU states, and in all probability, the US, too. US and UK’s anger stemmed from last week decision by the Cabinet to kill local tribunal option as a means of punishing post-election offenders, leaving but a small window for The Hague option, and going for Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission’s way.”
“[F]ormer US ambassador [Carson to] Kenya did not spare the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission: ‘Kenya’s six-year-old Anti-Corruption Commission has demonstrated a record similar (to Wako’s) success rate’… “Kenya’s court system has also shown a willingness to play along with the Attorney General’s style of politics. On the rare occasions when corruption cases are presented to the courts, they are thrown out on procedural grounds or are allowed to die in a sea of judicial bureaucracy. In Kenya, there is a saying that sums up the public attitude towards the nation’s courts: ‘Why hire a lawyer when you can buy a judge?’ said Carson”…
So here we are, two different accounts so far. Of course it is the case that furthering US (and EU for that matter) trade with Africa is crucial at this juncture, and the fact that Nairobi is hosting this large international gathering should not be sneered at.
And of course it is also the case that Kenya has exhibited very poor governance standards in recent, and not-so-recent, times, at a vast socio-economic cost to the population.
But if we are speaking of various ‘witnesses’ having different perspectives, it is no secret that the US embassy in Nairobi, alongside some key international donor agencies, committed major mis-steps around the time of the ill-fated elections in late 2007. In spite of their glaring biases and policy mishaps, the US, UK and the World Bank have largely been ’silent witnesses’ regarding what transpired on their own roles and actions at the time.
A tad of introspection by the US, UK (DfID) and the World Bank regarding their own governance failures in Nairobi before, during and immediately after the violent elections would help draw lessons for more effective aid strategies for the future. The benefit would be beyond Kenya, in fact, as part of the pending revamp of aid strategies more generally.
As importantly, such an honest review of the role of donors in the Kenya crisis would enhance the credibility of a tough message on good governance being delivered by the US and UK governments to Kenya.
Back to the future.
Topics: Aid Effectiveness, Corruption, G-20, Regulation & Security, Rule of Law, Transparency | | 2 Comments
August 6th, 2009 at 7:02 am
Dani,
Thanks for this entry. It demonstrates how the media spins events. Today, Secretary Clinton is meeting with the President of Somalia and I look forward to reading the world news accounts of that meeting and various paradigm shifts of the media. Somalia, and all its governance ills, past and present should make stage for a very interesting meeting; especially given Clinton’s meeting with him is subsequent to former U.S. Rep William Jefferson’s corruption conviction yesterday.
August 8th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
democracyandsociety [...] Daniel Kaufmann sums up the situation nicely from my perspective: it is no secret that the US embassy in Nairobi, alongside some key international donor agencies, committed major mis-steps around the time of the ill-fated elections in late 2007. In spite of their glaring biases and policy mishaps, the US, UK and the World Bank have largely been ’silent witnesses’ regarding what transpired on their own roles and actions at the time. [...]