At an American Chamber of Commerce gathering in Nairobi last month, Meg Whitman, former chief executive of eBay and Hewlett-Packard, posed the rhetorical question: “So, how do I feel about Africa and Kenya and our business relationship?”
Her answer was to hit play on the James Brown classic “I Feel Good” as she mustered her inner godfather of soul and shimmied across the stage in front of an amused (and bemused) audience.
The unalloyed enthusiasm of Whitman, US ambassador to Nairobi since 2022, has produced one highly symbolic outcome. Kenya’s president, William Ruto, will on Thursday become the first African leader in 16 years to be received in Washington on a state visit and only the sixth head of state to be so honoured by President Joe Biden. Ruto will visit Atlanta, attend a ceremony on the south lawn of the White House and be toasted at a luncheon hosted by the vice-president and secretary of state.