A collage of Uganda president Yoweri Museveni (left), President William Ruto (center) and US president Joe Biden (right)
FILE
"AGOA has been an amazing success story. Just recently the US was announced as Kenya's largest export market. We were number two and now we are number one and this is majorly due to AGOA," she explained.
At the end of September 2022, the United States overtook Uganda to be Kenya's leading export market.
According to Whitman, since the implementation of the Act, parallel export to the US increased drastically.
A file image of Business mogul and US ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman COURTESY
"AGOA has been an amazing success story. Just recently the US was announced as Kenya's largest export market. We were number two and now we are number one and this is majorly due to AGOA," she explained.
"I am not a career diplomat I am a career woman. I went to MAS Intimates and met very young Kenyans working at the factory. It was exciting working with the young population. It give you a sense of belonging," she remarked.
Notably, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), had pleaded with the US government to extend the AGOA agreement.
"With unemployment and under-employment challenges in Kenya at a record high, the contribution of AGOA to creating job opportunities cannot be underestimated," KAM stated. Uncertainty looms as the AGOA agreement is set to expire in 2025. BY Maureen Njeri. Kenyans.co.ke
The King will welcome Cyril Ramaphosa and First Lady Dr Tshepo Motsepe to Buckingham Palace at the end of November, in a visit originally suggested during the late Queen's reign.
Over three days, the Royal family will roll out the red carpet for South African guests, with a full state dinner and speeches included.
The King and Queen Consort will be joined by other senior members of the Royal family to welcome Mr Ramaphosa, with the Prince and Princess of Wales likely to be included.
The visit, from Nov 22 to 24, is the first state visit since the Covid-19 pandemic and has come at the request of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
It is likely to have been chosen in part because of South Africa’s membership of the Commonwealth.
The King has replaced his late mother as the new head of Commonwealth and taken a leading role in encouraging member countries to remain in the “family of nations”, despite debates about the legacy of colonialism and calls for republicanism in the Caribbean realms.
The visit is understood to have been in the planning stages while the late Queen was alive, with King Charles inheriting the responsibility.
It comes three years after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made an official visit to South Africa, also at the request of the Foreign Office, which started in glory and ended in tears.
But the trip is now best remembered for its last few days, in which the Duchess launched legal action against a UK newspaper and the Duke issued a scathing condemnation of the tabloid press.
Soon afterwards, ITV broadcast an interview in which a tearful Meghan relayed her unhappiness during the tour, saying “not many people have asked if I’m OK”.
They could instead be invited to sleep at Windsor Castle or Clarence House, which the King is currently using as his main London home.
The last state visit was from Donald Trump in 2019, when he was president of the United States. He and his wife stayed with the US ambassador and made visits to both Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle for a series of events with the wider Royal family.
Before that, in 2018, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands were able to stay in the London palace during their own successful trip.
The late Queen had a long relationship with South Africa, visiting in 1947, 1995 and 1999 - and she had a warm friendship with Nelson Mandela, who used to call her “Elizabeth”.
The King has visited South Africa on a number of occasions since his first tour of the country in 1997, which included Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
His last trip was in 2011 when, along with the Queen Consort, he carried out engagements including a speech on climate change at the University of Cape Town and a visit to the Black Rhino Range expansion project in Phinda Game Reserve.
They also attended the Nelson Mandela Foundation, where they were received by Graca Machel, the former president’s widow.
The King was also present at Mr Mandela’s funeral in 2013, remarking the world would be a “poorer place without him” and that he was owed “an enormous debt of gratitude for what he’s managed to achieve with his life”.
The King and the Queen Consort, then the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, also welcomed Jacob Zuma at the start of a state visit by the former South African president in 2010.
It comes as Mr Ramaphosa denies allegations of money laundering that threaten his position at the heart of Africa’s most developed economy. By Hannah Furness, Telegraph
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta and commander Muhoozi Kainerugaba. TWITTER MUHOOZI
Lieutenant General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, came under harsh criticism after insinuating that Kenya's former President Uhuru Kenyatta should have vied for a third term in office.
Through a statement dated Monday, October 3, Muhoozi noted that Uhuru would have easily trounced current President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga during the August 9 General Election.
The commander of the land forces of the Uganda People's Defence Force -UPDF further explained that in Uganda, only revolution is applicable and not the rule of law as anchored in the Kenyan Constitution.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Muhoozi Kainerugaba. TWITTER MUHOOZI
"My only problem with my beloved big brother is that he didn't stand for a third term. We would have won easily," Muhoozi stated.
"love my Kenyan relatives. Constitution? Rule of law? You must be joking! For us there is only the Revolution and you will soon learn about it!" he added.
His sentiments, however, sparked uproar from a section of Kenyans online. They called out Museveni's son, insisting that the country is guided by the rule of law where a president's term is only limited to two terms.
" Kenya is a country with a high level of democracy. They don't easily tamper with the constitution for the betterment of their people. Hope my message reaches home," a social media user Kevin Gogo told Muhoozi.
"It's not provided for in our Kenyan constitution," Hassan Assumani added.
Others faulted Muhoozi for threatening to ruin a cordial relationship between President Ruto and Museveni. The two enjoy deeper diplomatic ties.
"It wouldn't take us, my army and me, 2 weeks to capture Nairobi," Lieutenant General Muhoozi stated.
Museveni was among the 40 heads of state who attended Ruto's inauguration at Kasarani on Tuesday, September 13, where he assured Kenyans that he would deliver his campaign pledges.
In 2021, Museveni invited Ruto to attend the groundbreaking of a multi-billion pharmaceutical drugs and mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility.
He, however, insisted that Kenya and Uganda needed to unite while underscoring that he was advocating for a breach of the Kenyan constitution.
"Kenya and Uganda are brothers! The most important political question in East Africa is 'How soon do we unite?" Muhoozi posed.
On June 8, Uhuru hosted Muhoozi at State House where they discussed on the need to restore peace in some parts of the region, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"Among the issues discussed included the restoration of peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo," dispatch from state house stated.
The two have also been spotted hanging out at different reclusive spots depicting the closeness between Uhuru and Muhoozi.
Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba and mother Janet Kataha. TWITTER By Geoffrey Lutta, Kenyans.co.ke
Move part of minor Cabinet reshuffle, with appointees to take oath of office Monday
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has made a minor Cabinet reshuffle, sacking Foreign Affairs Minister Liberata Mulamula.
According to a statement released late Sunday by the Directorate of Presidential Communications, Mulamula has been replaced by Stergomena Tax, who has been serving as defense minister and is also the former executive secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The statement said President Hassan has appointed Innocent Bashungwa as minister of defense. Before the appointment, he was Minister of State in the President's Office (Regional Administration and Local Government).
The statement further said that the president has recalled former Cabinet minister Angelah Kairuki to serve as Minister of State in the President's Office (Regional Administration and Local Government).
All of the ministers will be sworn in on Monday, the statement added. By Kizito Makoye, Anadolu Agency
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday strongly condemned Friday's attack on UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which left one Pakistani blue helmet dead.
"The secretary-general recalls that attacks against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute a war crime under international law. He calls on the Congolese authorities to investigate this incident and swiftly bring those responsible to justice," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres, in a statement.
Guterres expressed his deepest condolences to the family of the fallen peacekeeper and to the government and people of Pakistan, said the statement.
He reaffirmed that the United Nations will continue to support the Congolese government and people in their efforts to bring about peace and stability in the east of the country.
Twirwaneho combatants were suspected to have carried out the attack against a Company Operating Base of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC in Minembwe of South Kivu province, according to the statement.
The Twirwaneho militia is one of over 120 armed groups in volatile eastern DRC. UN
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A file image of Business mogul and US ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman COURTESY
