Kenyatta to China’s Critics: “We Don’t Need Lectures”

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta spoke after an inspection of the Kipevu Oil Terminal in Mombasa with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Image via KTN News.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta hit back at critics of China’s presence in Africa, presenting Beijing as a welcome alternative to Africa’s legacy partners in the U.S. and Europe that too often, he said, lectured African countries and dictated the terms of engagement. 

The Kenyan President delivered his remarks last Thursday after an inspection of the Kipevu Oil Terminal (KOT) with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the southern port city of Mombasa. The nearly-complete $350 million KOT is being built by Chinese contractors and is one of a number of major Chinese infrastructure projects developed in Mombasa, including the Standard Gauge Railway.

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by Eric Olander

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