– ‘Africa rising’ –
On his first presidential trip to Africa, in 2009, Obama gave a speech in Ghana that spoke to a “new moment of promise” on the rapidly rising continent.
But the rise has been curbed by security problems, as well also corruption and rights abuses, issues that are sure to come up in Nairobi and Addis Ababa.
Kenya has been hit by a string of attacks. In 1998, Al-Qaeda-linked militants blew up the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, killing hundreds.
In April this year, Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shabaab rebels massacred 148 people at Garissa University, most of them students.
“Since Kenya is on the frontlines of the fight against terrorism, the US is providing equipment and training for our security forces,” said Kenyan ambassador to the United States Robinson Njeru Githae.
Also in Kenya, Obama will attend a Global Entrepreneurship Summit, aimed at promoting businesses that promise to lift many more Africans out of poverty and help insulate societies against radicalization.
In Addis Ababa, Obama is expected to address leaders of the African Union, remarks that are likely to touch on Africa’s democratic deficit.
More than 50 African and global human rights groups — including Human Rights Watch and Freedom House — have written to Obama to take a democratic message to Africa.
The charges against Kenyatta, and the fact Ethiopia’s government won 100 percent of parliamentary seats in a recent disputed election, has raised questions about whether Obama should go at all.
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