Why Ruto’s dalliance with China has stirred storm in Washington
By Chebii Kiprono, August 9, 2025The recent move by the United States to review Kenya’s designation as a major non-NATO ally stirred diplomatic interest and rekindled debates around Africa’s evolving place in global geopolitics.
Announced just months after President William Ruto’s high-profile state visit to Washington, DC, in May 2024, the review was interpreted in many quarters as a recalibration of the United States’ strategic outlook in East Africa.
Yet this announcement was not merely a bureaucratic or diplomatic adjustment. It carried with it echoes of past alignments, the tremors of current global rivalries, and the cautious optimism of a country attempting to balance its sovereignty with global partnerships.
For Kenya, a country long heralded as a pillar of stability in a turbulent region, the moment is both a test and a testimony.
Non-NATO ally
To appreciate the weight of this shift, it is necessary to revisit the meaning of the designation itself.
The status of major non-NATO ally, conferred to Kenya in May 2024 during President Ruto’s visit, is more than just a ceremonial badge.
It signals preferential access to US military equipment, joint training, and security collaboration.
Kenya joined the ranks of 18 other nations, such as Israel, Egypt, South Korea, and Japan, that enjoy this status.
For Kenya, it marked a culmination of years of cooperation in counterterrorism, peacekeeping, and regional security initiatives, especially in Somalia through the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) and earlier through AMISOM.
This partnership, rooted in decades of military cooperation and intelligence sharing, is seen as critical to both countries.
However, global politics is never static. Within weeks of the designation, US lawmakers expressed reservations.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee initiated a review process.
Their concerns were not about Kenya’s regional role per se but centred on governance, democracy, and recent incidents around the deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti.
Critics pointed to questions about police accountability and human rights abuses at home, arguing that such issues raise legitimate doubts about Kenya’s readiness to assume expanded international security roles.
The deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti was at the centre of this storm.
Announced in 2023 and operationalised in 2024, the move was part of a United Nations-backed effort to restore order in the Caribbean nation plagued by gang violence and institutional collapse.
Kenya volunteered to lead the multinational force, with the United States committing financial and logistical support.
While some African nations lauded Nairobi’s leadership, others viewed it as an overreach.
Domestically, civil society raised concerns about Kenya’s own policing record, citing incidents from the 2017 elections, as well as the 2023 protests in which police responses drew condemnation from human rights groups.
US lawmakers, perhaps responding to both domestic constituencies and international watchdogs, now find themselves weighing the implications of backing such a force with a major non-NATO ally designation.
Practical implications
For Kenya, the review carries both symbolic and practical implications.
Symbolically, the withdrawal or suspension of the designation would be a diplomatic slap, undermining the momentum built during the state visit and casting a shadow on President Ruto’s foreign policy strategy.
Practically, it could delay or complicate defence procurements, intelligence cooperation, and future joint operations.
Yet even more than these tangible effects, it may signal a deeper uncertainty about how African states are perceived in the shifting chessboard of great power competition.
The broader context cannot be ignored. In recent years, the United States has been reasserting its engagement with Africa in the face of growing Chinese and Russian influence.
From economic partnerships through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), to security cooperation in the Sahel and Horn of Africa, Washington has sought to renew ties with African capitals.
The 2022 US Africa Leaders Summit, held in Washington, symbolised this renewed interest. Kenya, with its relative political stability, growing economy, and active regional diplomacy, has been a natural partner in this endeavour.
That the review comes barely a year after these engagements gained traction is telling.
At the same time, Kenya is no stranger to navigating global alliances with careful tact.
During the Cold War, Kenya was firmly in the Western orbit, hosting key military installations and acting as a strategic counterweight to Soviet-leaning neighbours.
President Jomo Kenyatta in the 1960s and 70s, and later President Daniel Arap Moi in the 1980s, maintained a delicate balance between non-alignment and Western alignment.
In the post 9-11 era, Kenya emerged as a frontline partner in the global war on terror, especially following the 1998 US Embassy bombing in Nairobi and the increasing threat of Al Shabaab from neighbouring Somalia.
This cooperation only deepened in the decades that followed.
The current review, therefore, must be seen not as a rupture but as part of the complex ebb and flow of international relations.
US lawmakers’ concerns about police conduct and democratic accountability are not without merit.
Kenya, like many other democracies, is grappling with the tensions between order and liberty, between state authority and civic rights.
The protest movements in 2023 and 2024, largely youth-led and digitally organised, exposed the vulnerabilities of Kenya’s political institutions and the impatience of a new generation with the status quo.
The manner in which the state responds to such dissent will increasingly define how external partners evaluate the country’s democratic credentials.
Nevertheless, diplomacy is as much about perception as it is about principle.
If the United States is to remain a credible partner in Africa, it must learn to distinguish between punitive disengagement and constructive pressure.
Kenya’s leadership in Haiti, though controversial, reflects a growing willingness among African states to take ownership of global peace and security efforts.
This is something the United States has long advocated for. To penalise Kenya for acting where others hesitated would send a contradictory message.
Rather than rescind the designation, a more prudent approach would be to accompany it with clear benchmarks on accountability, oversight, and human rights.
Global prestige
From Kenya’s perspective, the review should be a moment of introspection. The allure of global prestige must be matched by domestic reforms.
A state that seeks to export security must first be secure in its legitimacy at home.
Investing in police reforms, strengthening independent institutions, and respecting civic space are not just boxes to check for foreign approval, but foundations for long-term national strength.
If handled wisely, the current scrutiny could be an opportunity for Kenya to consolidate both its internal democracy and external credibility.
As we await the outcome of the review, one thing is clear: Kenya’s position in global affairs is evolving.
No longer is it content to be a passive recipient of aid or a footnote in others’ strategies; Kenya is asserting itself as a regional power with global ambitions.
But with ambition comes scrutiny, and with leadership comes responsibility.
The United States, for its part, must decide whether to treat Kenya as a true partner, with all the complexities that entails, or as a conditional ally subject to shifting political winds in Washington.
History shows us that alliances built on mutual respect and shared values tend to endure. Those built on expedience often do not.
The road ahead for Kenya and the United States will be shaped not just by this review, but by the ability of both nations to learn from history, confront present realities, and imagine a future where cooperation is not contingent but committed.
Dr Chebii Z.K. is a lecturer, historian, political commentator and UASU Chapter Trustee at Alupe University, Kenya