Government Policy (Kenya)

Ian C. Lucas Excerpts

Wednesday 20th March 2013 Westminster Hall

[Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to appear before you today, Mr Bone, and to take part in this debate. I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Eric Joyce) for initiating it, because this is an appropriate time for us to reflect on Kenya’s position. It is such an important country in east Africa, as has been conveyed by all the speakers. This is a time for us to reflect on the elections and think about our relationship with Kenya. It is a crucial country in Africa, with huge opportunities and strategic importance, and we need to work with it in the years ahead.

My hon. Friend raised the continuing issue about the International Criminal Court, which I will come on to, and spoke about such economic issues as communications in Africa, which are quite extraordinary. It is striking how we regularly hear from Back Benchers in this House about the frustrations of broadband delivery within walking distance of town centres in their constituencies because, from my experience of visits to Africa, the innovative approach to communications and the development of mobile technologies—from Morocco to even the Congo—is quite extraordinary. As in so many areas, we must not assume that we have nothing to learn from innovative progress in Africa. We need to engage much more closely with countries such as Kenya to learn about such matters.

The hon. Member for Cheltenham (Martin Horwood) made an important point about the neo-colonialist background. As we have heard, comments were made in the heat of the election campaign and, as he rightly said, that sometimes happens in Britain. A letter was delivered to me on election day by my Liberal Democrat opponent, who suggested that he might take me to court because of my election leaflet, but fortunately that never happened—[Interruption.] As the Minister says, that was clearly a misunderstanding.

Things said in election campaigns should be reflected on, but we then need to build relationships and move forward. I am sure that the approaches of the diplomatic representatives from the United Kingdom were entirely appropriate. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk, I have combed the records, and I struggled to find—in fact, I did not find—anything inappropriate about any observations made by Her Majesty’s Government on the elections, so it is entirely right to move forward.

The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) referred to the armed forces parliamentary scheme, which is so important in enabling us in this House to appreciate the continuing work of our armed forces across the world. Kenya is important in that regard, as my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk said.

The debate has been interesting and important. I have listened to all the speakers, and I think that reflection and looking forward is now the order of the day. Given the elections, Kenya has been the focus of international attention, and many of us held our breath about the elections over the past month. Thankfully, there has not been a repeat of the scale of violence that the people of Kenya witnessed following the elections in December 2007, which, it is worth reflecting, left 1,000 people dead and 600,000 people displaced. There was a real concern about the breakdown of government at that time, which fortunately has not been repeated.

Not everything went smoothly in the recent elections. On polling day, a separatist organisation raided a police station in Mombasa, resulting in 15 deaths. The situation was tense, but we have moved through that. As we know, following the 2007 elections, the President-elect and the Vice-President-elect were brought before the ICC to answer charges of crimes against humanity relating to post-election violence. That still continues and, as the hon. Member for Cheltenham said, we must respect the role of the International Criminal Court. International principles of justice and democracy must apply and be carried forward.

It is clear from this debate that there is a great deal of sympathy and solidarity with, as well as passion for, the people of Kenya. What I have learned in my role as shadow Minister for Africa is that there are enormous Kenyan communities within the UK, who make a very valuable contribution to British life. I have met individuals and groups with a concern for Kenya, who felt great sadness and frustration around the time of 2007 and 2008, and who also felt that there was a lack of political and legal accountability in connection with the 2007 violence. So, the pending legal challenge at the ICC has been an important process, but it has of course been a slow process, as so many legal proceedings are, and a painful one. We in the UK always have to be aware of our connections with Kenya.

[Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North) (DUP)]

The hon. Gentleman referred to the frustration that some people feel when looking at the situation in Kenya, particularly those of Kenyan origin who are here in the United Kingdom. I was in Kenya in 2002 and visited polling stations during the presidential election then, and the optimism at the election of President Kibaki at that time was palpable—it was a change. Unfortunately, things deteriorated in the 2007 election and in the violence afterwards. Does the hon. Gentleman share my sense of frustration, and that of Kenyans who I have talked to, that things have not moved forward, that the optimism has not been capitalised upon and that the great potential of Kenya has not been realised for its people?

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[Ian Lucas]

That is intensely frustrating. What has struck me on the visits I have made to different African countries is the passion for democracy and the passion to vote, which was reflected in the 86% turnout in the recent election in Kenya. There is a thirst for democracy and progress, so the fact that progress has not been made in the last decade is a great source of disappointment. I hope that, even though the ICC proceedings are taking place, we will now be able, given the acceptance of the parties in the election of the result of the election although there may be legal challenges involved, to make some progress—both political and economic—in a way that has not happened in the past decade.

We must tread very carefully. The Minister knows that in our dealings with many, many African countries, they are very well aware of our colonial past. We have a role that, of course, respects the principles of self-determination and of elections within African countries, but different African countries always have a particular relationship with the United Kingdom, which is similar to the relationship of some African countries with other countries, such as France, that have also played a role in the continent in the past. That relationship is different from African countries’ relationship with countries such as China, which have not played the same role in Africa in the past.

However, we should give credit for the peaceful and determined spirit with which the recent election in Kenya was conducted for the vast majority of people. It was conducted in the right spirit and with the right principles. We need to respect the authority of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, and of other Kenyan institutions, to deliver this election. The disputes that are under way at the present time should be dealt with by the courts, which is the appropriate place for any disputes to be dealt with. In terms of governance, we should emphasise that our commitment is to international principles of democracy and justice, and it is not—in any sense—to interfere in any particular state. We have a proud tradition of democracy in this country, which we want to be shared everywhere.

We have heard that Kenya has, of course, an extremely important strategic location and role within the region, and that it has been very helpful indeed in achieving the steps—the tentative steps—towards progress in Somalia. My hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk mentioned the piracy issue. The EU has done much good work on that issue, and it has worked with Kenya to improve the piracy situation during the past few years. I commend the Government for the important role that that work has played in the region.

In addition, Kenya is an important economic power, as we have also heard. The Department for International Development has recently teamed up with the CBI to campaign for growth in emerging economies, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. I would be very interested to hear what specific steps the Government are taking with UK Trade and Investment to work with British business in Kenya—in the new context of a new, stable Government—to build good governance and good business structures within the country that can deliver prosperity, not only to Kenya but to British businesses that work there.

It is very important that we continue with our co-operation programmes in this place through the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Recently, we have had visits to the UK from Kenyan groups, including a delegation of Kenyan women parliamentarians, and it is extremely important that those visits continue. It is also important that the development of the structures of democracy continues, such as committee work and all the grind that we get used to in this place and that is such an intrinsic and fundamental part of an effective democratic process. Again, we benefit hugely from contact and liaising with our African colleagues. It is very important that in this new phase in Kenyan politics we work hard on deepening and strengthening those contacts.

I believe that the EU, in connection with the recent election in Kenya, carried out an observation mission and I would be interested in hearing the Minister’s reflections on that mission, and on what assessment the EU has made about the election itself. Clearly, there are some matters relating to process, which have been raised by the losing candidate for the presidency, but I would be interested to hear about the EU’s reflections on that matter.

I know that the British Government have provided support for Kenya through the EU, including support for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, voter education, independent election observation and security reform. Again, any reflections that the Minister can provide on our role—what we did well, what we did badly—would be very helpful. If he cannot provide them today, I would certainly be grateful if he could provide them in the weeks ahead.

In recent months, Members from across the House have been very concerned by violent clashes between the Orma and Pokomo groups in the Tana River district. I am pleased that the Kenyan Government have responded by adding 1,000 police officers to the officers in the area, and that the disarmament programme and mediation efforts are continuing. However, I would be grateful if the Minister could provide an update and a report on the position on the ground in that district at the present time.

I hope that the Minister can address these questions. It is important, now that the election in Kenya is behind us and the parties there have accepted its outcome, that we develop and build our relations with the new Kenyan Government; that governance is strengthened in Kenya; and that in our Parliament we work hard with our Kenyan friends to develop effective governance. Also, following on from yesterday’s debate in Westminster Hall about the importance of UKTI and economic exports from the UK to different parts of the world including Africa, which some Members who are here today also attended, it is very important that we support and make effective economic progress with partners such as Kenya. We should be looking ahead; we are in a new phase in Kenyan-British relations. We need to work hard to ensure that that new phase is a positive one, which will be of benefit to the people of Kenya and the people of Britain.