Magufuli, Kenyatta reiterate unity
President John Magufuli and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta wave to a crowd shortly after the latter arrived at the Chato Airport in Geita Region yesterday. The visit comes amid efforts to defuse tension after Kenyan politician Charles Njagua alias Jaguar uttered hate remarks targeted at foreigners doing business in Nairobi, including Tanzanians. PHOTO | STATE HOUSE
Dar es Salaam. Two State Presidents of the six-member East African Community countries yesterday unequivocally condemned the use of xenophobic rhetoric by politicians and other public leaders. In the event, they strongly warned of the dangers of pursuing what they called ‘cheap populism.’
President John Magufuli of Tanzania and his Kenyan counterpart, President Uhuru Kenyatta, gave the rebuke yesterday when they jointly addressed a public rally in Dr Magufuli’s hometown of Chato in Geita Region where he had gone to on a brief sojourn.
Although the Heads of State of the two biggest economies in East Africa didn’t engage in name-calling, it was clear that the presidential reprimand was issued against the backdrop of remarks made recently by a Kenyan politician, Mr Charles Njagua ‘Jaguar’ Kanyi.
Mr ‘Jaguar’ Kanyi is a member of the Kenyan Parliament, representing the Starehe constituency in Nairobi County.
In a video clip that went viral on Tuesday, the politician and pop singer is heard uttering xenophobic remarks against foreigners working and doing business in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
In the event, he warned that if ‘foreigners’ (Tanzanian, Ugandan, Pakistan and Chinese) working in Nairobi were not sent home within 24 hours, he and his supporters would “pick and beat them up – and we do not fear anybody!”
Speaking at the rally in Chato, President Magufuli described these remarks as “manipulative and very dangerous.”
He then thanked the Kenyatta government for acting swiftly against the lawmaker. The Kenyan government did not only officially write to the President Magufuli government to categorically state its position regarding the controversial remarks; it had also arrested the MP on June 26 – and arraigned him before a Nairobi court on Wednesday where he was charged with ‘incitement to violence,’ by making utterances that intended to incite Kenyans against foreign nationals in Kenya on June 24 this year. ‘Jaguar’ was later released on bail, and his case adjourned to September 4 for hearing.
“I sincerely thank you, Mr President [Kenyatta], for the steps taken by your government following the remarks of one person which aimed to divide the peoples of Tanzania and Kenya. You did an excellent job,” Dr Magufuli said in his first statement since the incident took place in Kenya.
“Words sometimes tend to be dangerously poisonous, especially from people who seek cheap populism.”
Mr Magufuli reiterated that Tanzania is a close ally of Kenya, especially in the areas of trade and investment, as well as in infrastructure development projects.
Value of trade
According to him, the value of trade between Kenya and Tanzania stood at Sh1.045 trillion in 2018, with each country importing and exporting assorted goods from another.
Kenya is among Tanzania’s main trading partners, representing 4.3 per cent of all Tanzanian exports and 4.1 per cent of all its imports. So far, about 529 Kenyan companies have set base in Tanzania and invested $1.7 billion, creating more than 56,260 jobs for Tanzanians.
President Magufuli also said that, according to the Kenya Tourism Board, a total of 22,216 Tanzanians visited Kenya as tourists in 2018. This was almost ten per cent all the people who visited the country Kenya that year, totaling some two million ‘tourists.’
For his part, President Kenyatta assured his host that no one can succeed in pitting Kenyans against their Tanzanian brothers and sisters.
Noting that the two countries are striving to create a prosperous East African Community (EAC), Mr Kenyatta said it struck him as odd that some people seek to make these developmental efforts futile.
“How can you tell a Tanzanian that he cannot come to Kenya to do business, or visit relatives in Kenya? We are striving to make our peoples free to move across our borders, as well as free to trade,” Mr Kenyatta elaborated -- adding that “this is the EAC we want. Not the EAC of short-sighted people with outdated views, bent on dividing people,” he stressed.
Both presidents agreed that it was important to improve and strengthen their relations. This is especially in the areas of trade and investment, as well as in developing infrastructural projects, including the construction of roads, one-stop border posts, etc.
