Government Policy (Kenya)

Peter Bone Excerpts

Wednesday 20th March 2013 Westminster Hall

[Eric Joyce]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. We all agree with the international rule of law and we see that the ICC has a role, but we also understand that there is an even larger public benefit at play across the world. It is for politicians to fix this. We benefit enormously as a nation from our relationship with Kenya, so this is not entirely altruistic, but those of us who care about African states, as all of us do, and particularly the importance and pivotal significance of Kenya, need to get the balance right. The hon. Gentleman will be aware of particular cases when we have to say, “This is an overall objective.” It is about peace and strong relationships, and ensuring economic growth and development, and the protection and security of our citizens. We somehow have to make international justice work where it can.

There is a degree of symbolism in the ICC. The US and China have not signed up to it and Russia has not ratified the treaty. In each case, I understand why that has happened. I remember vividly our debate in the House 10 or 11 years ago when we passed the Act that implemented the treaty. There was genuine concern on both sides of the House that the ICC could be misused. Those three major states and India stayed out of it because they were concerned that it would not dovetail well with how they saw the world, which I can appreciate—that, in itself, is an indication of the political aspect of the ICC. That is not to be cynical, but apportioning strategic importance to countries, and thereby excluding them from the ambit of the ICC—in effect, that is done by indicting only Africans—is a significant issue. If we choose to do that, we need to recognise that Kenya is far too important to be treated as if it were a minor and strategically unimportant state, although of course the UK Government would not treat anyone as if they were unimportant.

It might be strange if I were to make a speech about President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta without referring to what some might call our post-colonial legacy, although I will not bang on about it—I do not have a PhD in post-colonialism. His father was president of Kenya at an important time. People feel strongly attached to his father’s legacy for the nation of Kenya now. I am of course talking about President Jomo Kenyatta. Britain has played with an entirely straight bat. To be honest, I think that there has been a little bit of hubris because one American diplomat made one unfortunate comment, although it might have gone beyond that—I really do not know.

When it comes to African states, it is always possible that internal politics reflect the possibility of external post-colonial influence by a misguided British Government, and that be can be reflected in the conduct of internal politics, as to some degree has been the case. The current and previous Governments dealt with that well. Frankly, however, President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta saw an opportunity, as any proper politician would, to jump all over it, thinking, “This is an opportunity to establish my own credentials as a defender of the nation and our national integrity.” He is, of course, also his father’s son, which helped enormously. He was already a strong candidate, but that all helped his campaign. Any politician would have done the same in that situation.

The risk for the UK is that it is seen as trying to impose “white man’s justice” by going to Africa to tell those nice black folk how to get on and run their countries. Countries across Africa will rebel immediately against that, and that will become part of their internal politics. We can see it in Zimbabwe. There is a tiny risk in Zimbabwe that we sometimes look as though we are on one side, when we need to be very careful to be right down the middle. That is not to say that we should have the same international detachment to international justice as the Russians and Chinese—I understand why they do it; they have very different political systems. The risk for the UK is that we look as though we are reflecting past traditions, as I am certain that Ministers and officials know.

Britain needs to play the whole Kenyan situation with a straight bat—I am a Scotsman, so I have no idea of the rules of cricket; I just use the metaphor—and to be seen as doing so by the Kenyans. We should do whatever we can from now on to facilitate an absolute normalisation of our relationship with Kenya.

[Mr Peter Bone (in the Chair)]

It might be helpful for Members to know that nobody has indicated to the Chair that they want to speak. If those who wish to contribute would stand, it would be helpful.

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[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to make a small contribution to the debate.

I want quickly to comment on the importance of Kenya and the United Kingdom and their role together, and also to comment on the opportunities that I have had in Kenya and in my interaction with some Kenyan citizens with British passports who live in my constituency. The hon. Member for Falkirk (Eric Joyce) and others have talked about the importance of Kenya, and it is good to come to this Chamber to speak on the issue and to underline the importance of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Kenya, and of where we can go from here.

Question marks over the election have been well illustrated by other Members, and I do not intend to dwell on them. I agree with the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Martin Horwood) that it is important to move on, realise where we are and take advantage of opportunities. The importance of the link between us and Kenya is well known because of the colonial relationships we have had over the years. We have become very interdependent, and the strong traditional and historical links between that nation and ours are important, as are the links today as Africa changes. The economic links are also important, and perhaps the Minister will comment on that in his response. I am always impressed with the Minister, and I do not say that in a condescending way, because when it comes to the issues that I and others feel in our hearts, he recognises them too, and that is the important thing when it comes to responding and encapsulating what we are all thinking. We look forward, therefore, to his response.

Economic links with Kenya are important, and we already have them in place. Traditionally, those links have been more important for the United Kingdom than for other parts of the world, but we must be aware that other countries are now equally interested in taking advantage of them. I had the opportunity of being in Kenya last year, and China’s presence there was very apparent. China was deeply involved in massive road building, and I would like to have the tarmac or the cement contract for that because it would last for ever.

We have people skills in this country, and yesterday my right hon. Friend the Member for Belfast North (Mr Dodds) spoke on the importance of the UK’s links with other countries. We have people skills and construction skills, and the ability to take people from here to Kenya to help. We should be doing that sort of construction work in Kenya. No disrespect to the Chinese, but why are we not there? That is the very point that many Members made in this Chamber at this very time yesterday morning. Whether or not it is the direct responsibility of the Minister, I would like to see some ideas about how we can build on that.

Something that did not come up in yesterday’s debate was the importance of water. Water in all parts of Africa is important, and we have many capable companies in the United Kingdom that could be given the contracts to improve accessibility to clean water right across Africa, and in particular in Kenya. Perhaps the Minister will give us an idea of how we can do that. We have very strong health and medical contacts with Kenya as well, and that is important because we want to increase the life span of people there. Tourism is important, not because of the programmes on TV that we have all seen but because it is an opportunity to see Kenya’s potential and its preservation of wildlife so that, rather than taking advantage, we can enjoy what there is in Kenya.

As I mentioned, the presence of China in Kenya is obvious. They are active everywhere in the country, and they are in every country in Africa. They are a major influence in the continent, and we do not want to lose our influence in any part of Africa, especially not in Kenya, to other countries. When it comes to mining, industry and the economy, what are we doing as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to help?

I have been involved with helping some Kenyan citizens in my constituency with immigration and personal issues, as all Members will have done as society across the whole United Kingdom becomes more cosmopolitan than ever before.

In the past two years I have been a member of the armed forces parliamentary scheme, which has given me the opportunity to go to many parts of the world. One place I went to last year was the British Army Training Unit in Kenya—BATUK—of which the hon. Member for Falkirk spoke. Our training camps in Kenya are vital, because they train our soldiers before they go to Afghanistan. As the sphere of war and our influence decreases in Afghanistan and the possibility of other spheres of conflict in Africa increases, BATUK is more important than ever. The British Government have spent a lot of money on their training camps in Kenya. We were there last year, when they were spending more money on a new training camp. That again underlines the important role that, for many reasons, we in this country have with Kenya. We need stability, and it is very important to have that over the next period.

I want to comment on the importance of Kenya and its stabilising role in the area. As other Members have said, Kenya contributes 2,000 troops to Somalia. Kenya is a very stabilising country in east Africa, but other countries, including Somalia, are very destabilising. It is important for this country and for Africa as a whole that Kenya is stable, and that it can use its influence in other countries in the area to ensure that peace reigns and that the destabilising influences of Muslim jihadist and other terrorist groups are diminished. That comes off the back of Kenya, backed by us and the United States of America, playing a very clear role.

Piracy off the east coast of Africa has been touched on by other Members. I believe that we can play a bigger role, as can Kenya, in addressing that issue. Perhaps it is time for the Foreign Office to have an officer in the embassy whose role would be to work with other countries to ensure that the piracy issue is addressed at the highest levels. There is a diplomatic role, as I have said, but there is also a military role, and perhaps that officer in the embassy in Kenya might, if at all possible, co-ordinate and improve such matters.

To conclude, Kenya’s role is critical to the future of Africa, but the relationship of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with Kenya is also critical to that, because Kenya alone cannot achieve the stabilisation that is needed. It is time to move on from the elections and to grasp the future for all the people in Kenya. Whether people are religious or not, I was very impressed to be informed on my travels in Kenya that no other place has as many churches per 100 yards. I have never seen as many churches in my life—Presbyterian, Elim Pentecostal, Jehovah’s Witness, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Church of Kenya—and they were incredible. That tells me that the people have a wish to do better and have an interest in each other. It is in our interests to play our part for Kenya, through this Government, as well as through this Westminster Hall debate.

[Mr Peter Bone (in the Chair)]

Before I call the shadow Minister, it might be helpful to say to the Minister, because I appreciate that he does not have a Parliamentary Private Secretary here, that inspiration from his officials should come via the Doorkeeper.