Kenyan president anxious to show he's reining in terrorism

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Nine months after being swept into office by Kenyans desperate to reverse decades of misrule, President Mwai Kibaki is coming to Washington facing a challenge at least as great as those that bedevil him at home.

His task is to persuade the White House that he is serious about tackling the terrorism that has struck his country twice in the past five years.

Terrorism is a serious drag on the 71-year-old president as he struggles to make good on his promises to educate his people and pull them out of poverty.

He has set up an anti-terrorism unit and pledged to create a national counterterrorism center. But Kenya has yet to convict anyone in connection with either of the two big attacks in his country -- the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy that killed 219 people, and the car bombing of a coastal hotel that left at least 10 Kenyans and three Israeli tourists dead Nov. 28.

Both attacks were blamed on the al-Qaida terrorist network.

U.S. officials believe al-Qaida is active in the East African nation, and they have been critical of Kenya's efforts to tackle terrorism. During his five-nation African tour in July, President Bush upset some Kenyans by avoiding their country because of security fears, and the United States continues to warn Americans about traveling here.

U.S. and British terrorism alerts have sent the all-important tourism sector into a nosedive, and even before that, money flows from the International Monetary Fund and other donors had dried up because of the corruption that flourished under Kibaki's predecessor, Daniel arap Moi.

Texas-sized Kenya is East Africa's leading country strategically and economically, and Kibaki is the most important African visitor the Bush administration has hosted.

His presence also highlights the gains democracy is making throughout Africa after decades of military regimes, dictatorships and the kind of mismanagement that characterized Moi's 24 years in power.

When Kibaki led an alliance of opposition parties to a landslide victory Dec. 27, he ended the 39-year rule of the Kenya African National Union, or KANU, which had ruled Kenya since independence from Britain in 1963. Moi stepped down in compliance with constitutional term limits and power was transferred peacefully -- a rarity in Africa.

Although a veteran politician long associated with the Moi regime, jazz-loving, golf-playing Kibaki was seen by Kenyans as a new breed.

He pledged zero tolerance of corruption. He promised to reform the judiciary, police and bureaucracy. He said he would create 500,000 jobs a year, revamp the economy and provide free primary education in a country where one-third of elementary-school-age children couldn't afford the minimum $12 annual school fee.

Today 56.8 percent of Kenya's 30 million people live on less than $1 a day, and gross domestic product growth from June 2002 to June 2003 was a paltry 1.1 percent.

The free schooling now exists and some headway has been made against the corruption and oppression of the Moi years. The government hopes for 2.3 percent growth this financial year, and more than 60 percent of Kenyans still believe the country is better off under Kibaki, according to a poll published last month by the independent Daily Nation newspaper.

Dennis Kabaara, head of Kenya's independent Institute of Economic Affairs, says he is disappointed with Kibaki's government, but expects the honeymoon to last a little longer.

"They are in a unique situation," he said. "The memory of the previous government is still so painful we are willing to give them more time."

The disappointment is over acrimonious public disputes gnawing at Kibaki's governing coalition, the persistent allegations of corruption, the terrorism issue stifling growth and the 500,000 jobs that haven't materialized. There have also been concerns about Kibaki's health.

"The government is not living up to the pledges they made. We're seeing wrangling among ministers and members of parliament, they've diverted their attention from the pledges they made to Kenyans to follow their own interests," said Benson Obonyo, 35, a marketing executive.

Since independence Kenyan politics have been characterized by tribalism and patronage, and now people fear that despite the promises of radical change, power is in the hands of a "Mount Kenya Mafia" from Kibaki's Kikuyu and other neighboring tribes.

Kabaara believes Kibaki's U.S. trip is an opportunity to sell himself to the world and prove he is the man in control.

"I have a feeling the international community is still a bit wary and not sure who is in charge," he said.