Kenya defends Sh271 million image-laundering gamble in Washington
Kenya is keen to secure a favourable trade deal with the United States before the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) expires in September.
Nairobi is pushing back against criticism of its decision to hire a high-priced American lobbying firm to burnish its image in Washington, United States.
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In a 17-page press release issued on July 28, the government defended its $2.1 million (Sh271 million) contract with Continental Strategy LLC, a firm packed with Donald Trump insiders, as a "standard and legitimate practice" to advance national interests.
The pushback comes at a delicate time; Kenya is keen to secure a favourable trade deal with the US before the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) expires in September.
It is also leading an ill-equipped multinational security mission in Haiti, a project requiring steady American diplomatic and financial support.
At the same time, President William Ruto's government is walking a fine line between Washington and Beijing, having recently praised China as a "co-architect of a new world order".
Facing sceptical media reports at home, the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary did not hold back. It emphasised that hiring lobbyists is neither new nor nefarious. "Such partnerships... are a standard and legitimate practice by governments worldwide," the statement read.
The release included a detailed annexe listing 44 instances since 1964 - stretching back to the Kenyatta era - in which the Kenyan government, its agencies, or state-linked entities hired American lobbying and public-relations firms.
The current contract with Continental Strategy, worth $175,000 (Sh22 million) a month, was framed not as an outlier but as the latest in a long line of "strategic investment[s] with guaranteed returns."
The government outlined two immediate priorities for its new lobbyists: to "accelerate conversations" around a post-AGOA trade pact with the US and to "buttress and broaden support" for the Kenya-led security mission in Haiti.
The statement also pointed to Kenya's "significant diaspora community in the US", suggesting the lobbying effort would also help secure their economic interests.
The justification offered was the requirement for total transparency under American law. The contract, like all such agreements, will be publicly filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
"Just as one media outlet accessed these records to create its headline story," the statement noted pointedly, "so too can any other interested organisations or parties freely obtain these publicly available documents."
The choice of Continental Strategy, however, reveals a deeper, more pragmatic calculation.
The firm was founded by Carlos Trujillo, Donald Trump's former ambassador to the Organisation of American States and a 2024 campaign surrogate.
His partners include a former chief of staff to Senator Marco Rubio and the daughter of a Trump White House chief of staff.
After failed trade talks with the Trump and Biden administrations, Nairobi appears to be betting that paying for well-connected Republicans will finally open the right doors in a potential second Trump term.
Yet the gamble is a risky one. While trying to charm Trump's Washington, Ruto has also embraced Beijing, a balancing act that often raises eyebrows in the American capital.
Kenya's government insists its lobbying strategy is a routine tool of statecraft. Its critics see a costly and desperate attempt to clean its image and curry favour at a time when its geopolitical allegiances are looking increasingly ambivalent.
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