Obama’s strong words for Kenya are welcome. But it’s too little, too late | Murithi Mutiga

The US president’s personal connection with Kenya gives him influence other western leaders don’t have, but for most of his time in office he has been largely disengaged from Africa

The Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, usually bristles at any criticism of his government from the west. Since taking office in March 2013 – defying calls from Washington and London not to contest the presidency because he was facing charges at the international criminal court at the time – he has deepened ties with China while launching rhetorical attacks on what he calls western “imperial exploiter(s)”.

Yet Barack Obama, who came to Kenya last week with strong words on the need to battle corruption, empower women, respect gay rights and drop outdated practices such as female genital mutilation, was treated decidedly differently. His frank discussion of the problems that bedevil the country would ordinarily have drawn a hostile reception from the government and its supporters. Instead, his address to the nation at a sports arena on Sunday has been met with only gushing praise from broad sections of the public and media.

There are not too many places in the world the US president will visit and find so many children named Barack Obama.

Related: Barack Obama in Kenya: 'no excuse' for treating women as second-class citizens

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