2007-08.
The case against Kenyatta has been suspended while Ruto’s continues.
“Obama could have been stronger on corruption, on tribalism,” said Githongo.
Nor did Obama speak strongly enough on civil society and media freedoms, Githongo said.
“There is a very strong feeling that media and civil society are currently under siege,” he said.
Shortly before Obama arrived in Kenya, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued a report warning of a “deteriorating climate” for press freedom in Kenya.
Women’s rights occupied a long stretch of Obama’s speech on Sunday.
“Treating women as second class citizens is a bad tradition,” he said, adding that to ignore half a country’s population is “stupid”.
Kenyan activists welcomed the focus on gender equality, including the mention of endemic wife-beating and the practice of female genital mutilation.
“It is my hope that his speech will encourage our policymakers to implement very progressive policies,” said Yvette Kathurima, of women’s rights group FEMNET. “As a country we must embrace women’s equal leadership and participation.”
Boniface Mwangi, a prominent Kenyan social activist who also met with Obama, agreed that it is Kenya’s leaders who most need to listen to Obama’s messages.
“Kenyans are very happy with Obama’s strong statements against corruption and we hope our president will now take the war against graft seriously,” said Mwangi, who is well known for his colourful protests that have included delivering pigs and coffins to Kenya’s parliament.
“Obama’s visit has energised the Kenyan youth to demand better from their leaders,” he said.
Obama’s visit and his tough-love messages on corruption, tribalism and sexism have raised hopes that Kenya may see change, rather than a continuation of business as usual.
But Kenyans are realistic about their leaders and their government, and so the hopes of change are frail.
The day after Obama left for neighbouring Ethiopia on the second leg of his Africa tour, a cartoon in the Daily Nation newspaper depicted a Kenyan civil servant, feet on his desk, declaring that “with Obama gone we got no one to impress”.