Post-cold war images of Kenya in the local and U.S. press: implications on Kenya-U.S. relations (1989-1993)

Abstract

portrayal of Africa in the foreign press, and particularly in the West has received considerable attention in recent years. African scholars and politicians have in recent yin's unanimously lamented that the Western press has not done justice to the continent iegard to objective reporting of its affairs. The scholars have argued that the negative image Africa in the Western press has starved the continent of much needed foreign ru~,investment, and tourists. Others have radically argued that it has resulted in Afrosimism: the African's loss of confidence in himself

Determine whether these speculations bear any truth, this study looked at the post­ Cold war images of Kenya in the local and US. press from 1989 to 1993 and their implication son Kenya-US. political and economic relations. It established that whenever the local and US. press portrayed the Kenyan government as abusing fundamental human rights, its relations with the US. suffered because America has been very particular about democracy in the post-Cold War era. Players in the US. foreign policy process picked up reports of gross human rights violation in the US. press and raised them with the Kenyan government. The Kenya government invariably regarded queries over the way it treated its citizens as interference in its internal affairs and reacted in hostile manner to the US. thereby creating tensions in their political relations.

In the economic sphere, images of gross violation of human and civil liberties witnessed the reduction or suspension (or both) of US. aid to Kenya. It was also noted that images of insecurity, diseases, mismanagement, corruption, and poor infrastructure in the local andUS. press occasioned declines in US. foreign investment, aid and tourists to Kenya. Thisis because the US. government feared its aid money would be misappropriated. U.S.tourist and investors spurned Kenya for fear of their security while some investors pulledout due to a hostile investment climate. Conversely, when the images of Kenya in the local and US. press improved, Kenya-US. political and economic relations became better as borne out by US. government's congratulatory statements to Nairobi on taking bold steps towards democracy and increases in the inflow of US. aid, investors and tourists to the country.