US President Barack Obama has commended Kenyan President Uhuru
Kenyatta for his commitment to rooting out corruption in the East African,
saying the issue was a key reason why the economy was not growing even faster.
The two
leaders spoke at a joint news conference in Nairobi on Saturday during which
they also addressed issues relating to the armed group al-Shabab in neighboring
Somalia and gay and lesbian rights in Kenya and the continent.
“This may
be the biggest impediment to Kenya growing faster,” Obama said after holding
talks with Kenyatta behind closed doors.He also
praised Kenyatta for making corruption a top priority of his administration.
Obama
nudged African states to treat gays and lesbians equally under the law, a
position that remains unpopular through much of the continent.
Kenyatta
responded by calling the matter a “non-issue” for his country.
Earlier
in the day, Obama praised the African continent for its economic advancements
while co-hosting a summit on global entrepreneurship with Kenyatta in Nairobi.
He called
Africa “one of the fastest growing regions in the world”.
Earlier
Obama said “Africa is on the move” in his first official engagement since
arriving in Kenya on Friday.
“People
are being lifted out of poverty, incomes are up, the middle class is growing
and young people like you are harnessing technology to change the way Africa is
doing business,” he told the global entrepreneurship summit.
Sharing
the stage with Obama at the summit, Kenyatta also voiced optimism towards a
brighter future for the continent.
“The
narrative of African despair is false, and indeed was never
true,” Kenyatta said. “Let them know that Africa is open and ready for
business.”
The visit
is Obama’s first as president, and is also the first time a sitting US president
will visit Ethiopia and the African Union’s headquarters in Addis Ababa.
Obama is
expected to address regional security issues and trade, and also touch on
matters relating to democracy, poverty, and human rights in the region.
Obama’s
trip has come under fire from rights groups, and more than 50 African and
global human rights organizations have called on him to publicly meet democracy
activists on the ground.
They
voiced concerns about “grave and worsening” rights challenges in
both Kenya and Ethiopia.
In Addis
Ababa, Obama is expected to address leaders of the AU.
Obama’s
visit to Kenya – the first by a sitting US president – has been long sought by
the East African nation where he is widely considered a local son.
Has laoreet percipitur ad. Vide interesset in mei, no his legimus verterem. Et nostrum imperdiet appellantur usu, mnesarchum referrentur id vim.
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