At a press conference broadcast live on TV, Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta did not appreciate being lectured by former U.S. President Barack Obama on gay rights. “We want to focus on other areas,” he bluntly told the visit American president. 

This incident highlights the frustration that many African leaders have with the U.S. and EU on human rights issues they considered to be out of bounds. So, when Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang unapologetically calls on the U.S. to stop being the “human rights guardians,” it’s very likely that leaders agree in the Kenyan, Tanzanian, Ugandan and several other foreign ministries across the continent.