The US president has urged Kenya to
hold "visible" trials to tackle corruption, which he said could be the
"biggest impediment" to further growth.
After talks in Nairobi,
President Obama and Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta said they were
"united against terrorism" and efforts to deal with it.
But the two leaders differed sharply in their positions on gay rights.
While Mr Obama spoke strongly against discrimination, Mr Kenyatta said Kenya did not share the same values.
Earlier Mr Obama praised Africa's economic and business potential in a speech.
"Africa
is on the move... People are being lifted out of poverty, incomes are
up (and) the middle class is growing," he told a business summit. BBC Africa Live: Obama in Kenya as it happened
He also visited a memorial for those killed in the 1998 US embassy bombing.
The trip, which began on Friday, is Mr Obama's first visit as president to the country where his father was born.
'Breaking the habit'
Barack Obama said he was encouraged by statements President Kenyatta had made about the need to root out corruption.
People
were being "consistently sapped by corruption at a high level and at a
low level" and there was a need for "visible prosecutions," Mr Obama
said, to show Kenyans that action was being taken.
"They don't have to be a forensic accountant to know what is going on."
Police
officers and civil servants had to be paid properly to help curb
corruption, but sometimes it just required "breaking the habit".
Analysis by Milton Nkosi, BBC News, Nairobi
Unlike some other Western leaders, Mr Obama neither lectured Mr Kenyatta nor patronised him at their joint press conference.
Instead,
he spoke like a friend - that Kenya needed to stamp out corruption to
attract investments and to make life easier for its own businessmen who
have to pay bribes. And Mr Obama pointed out that the US was also once
badly affected by corruption, but it had overcome the problem, giving
hope to Kenyans.
What Kenya needs, Mr Obama said, were "visible
prosecutions". Will Mr Kenyatta make sure that this happens or will it
be business-as-usual after Mr Obama leaves?
As for gay rights, Mr
Kenyatta left the clear impression that Kenya will not legalise
homosexual relations. Mr Obama is likely to continue to speak in favour
of gay rights, but there was no indication that the issue could cause a
serious rift between the two countries.
President Obama had dinner with his Kenyan relatives in Nairobi on Friday evening
Crowds waited to catch a glimpse of the US president in Nairobi on Saturday
The US and Kenyan leaders held talks on a range of issues in Nairobi on Saturday
President Obama had told the
BBC he would deliver a blunt message on gay rights when he travelled to
Africa - and defended his stand in response to a question at the joint
news conference.
"If somebody is a law-abiding citizen, who is
going about their business... and not harming anybody, the idea that
they are going to be treated differently or abused because of who they
love is wrong. Full stop," he said.
But Uhuru Kenyatta said gay rights were not "foremost" in the minds of Kenyans.
There were "some things that we must admit we don't share - our culture, our societies don't accept," he said.
"It's very difficult for us to be able to impose on people that which they themselves do not accept."
Media captionUhuru Kenyatta on gay rights: "There are things that our culture, our society does not accept"
In other comments, President Obama said:
The US is providing additional funding and assistance to Kenya's security forces for counter-terrorism
The US and Kenya are working to establish direct flights
The
Obama administration will propose a federal rule banning the sale of
almost all ivory across state lines as part of efforts to fight poaching
in Africa.
No comments:
Post a Comment