Kenya ditches America on Ethiopia crisis

The Kenyan government and the Biden administration have differed on the situation in Ethiopia on camera in a scene that most likely exposed America’s propaganda on the magnitude of the crisis in the Horn of Africa’s nation.

This comes moments after the U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated at a joint press conference that there was a need to evacuate American citizens and diplomats citing escalating tension in Ethiopia.

“My responsibility, oh our responsibility to first and foremost ensure the safety and security of American citizens and embassy personnel and to be cautious and to make sure that we are doing that,” Blinken told journalists at a press conference.

He said getting Americans out of Ethiopia was a necessity to ensure their safety through the moment of political turbulence.

“We have urged Americans who are in Ethiopia to take advantage of the opportunity to leave and my strong hope and conviction is we will help move things back to a place where it will be very safe for them to return and for Ethiopia to continue to move forward,” Blinken said.

“But it is the responsible prudent and necessary thing to do to make sure that we are looking out for our citizens and also looking out for embassy,” he said.

Kenya differs

In a rebuttal remark, Raychelle Omamo, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary of Foreign Affairs, said the region and Africa believe in the potential of Ethiopia and its people to find a lasting solution to the country’s political upheaval.

“President [Uhuru] Kenyatta deals with this issue as a friend and as a neighbour of Ethiopia, and neighbours believe in the potential of their neighbour. We believe in the potential of Ethiopia to find a resolution to this crisis, we believe that a ceasefire is possible,” Omamo said.

Contrary to Blinken’s to withdraw American citizens and its diplomats, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary called for genuine support to help put Ethiopia on the path of stability adding that time was not appropriate to give up on Ethiopia.

“We believe that the other conditions regarding humanitarian access are possible, we must believe in the fortitude and the wisdom of the Ethiopian people because, in the end, these solutions will come from them,” said Omamo.

“What we must do as neighbours is to support, to counsel, to hold hands, to point in the right direction to ensure that this crisis when it ends – and we believe it will end – will leave Ethiopia a stronger nation, a stronger partner, and a country that is able once again to guarantee the peace in our region,” she added.  

“Let us not give up hope in the people of Ethiopia, we must remain steadfast in being positive and being engaged in this crisis,” the Cabinet Secretary urged.

The Ethiopian government has repeatedly accused the U.S. government of peddling propaganda and altering the story of the conflict between the Oromo Democratic Party and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

Earlier this month, Ethiopians took to the streets to protest what they termed “bias coverage” of the Ethiopian crisis by international media houses, including those from the U.S.