Celebrity
Dutch royals visit Kenya: King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima arrive in Nairobi for state visit amid controversy on African country’s human rights
Kenya is hosting the Dutch king and queen as allegations of human rights abuses are mounting in the East African country, with Kenyans writing hundreds of emails and petitioning the royals to cancel their visit.
But King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima arrived on Tuesday as planned and carried out a full day of engagements, including meetings with Kenyan youth followed by a state banquet in the evening.
Within hours of touching down, the king addressed the controversy in a speech referencing the ”concerns that exist in these areas”.
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Kenya’s government has been accused of arresting and detaining critics, especially after the June anti-government protests, during which demonstrators stormed parliament and torched a section of the building because they were angry over new taxes passed by legislators.
Along with cracking down on demonstrators and curbing free speech, the country also saw state-linked abductions of young men for social media posts deemed offensive to the president.
In December, during protests against widespread kidnappings and abductions, dozens of peaceful protesters were arrested.
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More than 20,000 Kenyans signed the petition on Change.org asking King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima to reconsider their visit.
Last month, the government in the Netherlands said that it had received more than 300 emails asking for the cancellation, but that the state visit would proceed as scheduled.
The Netherlands is the biggest importer of goods from Kenya and diplomatic ties stretch back 60 years.
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The Dutch royals arrived on Monday night for a three-day visit. Willem-Alexander was honoured with a 21-gun salute and inspected an honour guard, the office of President William Ruto said on Tuesday morning.
Queen Maxima stood out in a bold red cape dress with a matching wide-brimmed hat, mirroring the red from the flags of Kenya and the Netherlands. Her jewels included rubies from the Dutch royal vaults.
The King gave a speech soon after the royal couple’s arrival saying he wanted Kenyans, like those in Netherlands, to have their rights as free citizens to be respected, and their voices to be heard.
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“I’m pleased that our countries’ strong and mature relationship allows us to devote attention during this visit to issues like human rights, good governance and accountability,” he said.
“We are grateful to have the opportunity to discuss the concerns that exist in these areas. Later this morning, at the ambassador’s residence, we will be meeting young Kenyans to hear their views on recent developments.
“What opportunities do they see to build a bright future for the country they love? A future in which everyone can participate on an equal footing.”
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But there was little excitement from Kenyans on the streets during the first day of the royal visit. Macharia Munene, a professor of international relations at the United States International University-Africa, attributed it to the “low morale that people in the country find themselves in”.
“There generally is low trust for the government and what it claims to stand for in part because such critical public institutions as health and education are not working,” Munene said.
“The diplomatic clout that Kenya used to have has evaporated.”
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Amnesty International on Saturday asked Kenya and the Netherlands to “place human rights at the heart of the visit, address human rights violations and commit to accountability for all victims following the recent brutal crackdown on human rights” in the East African country.
Kenya was among several African countries elected to the U.N Human Rights Council in October, and rights groups have been urging the government to prioritize civil liberties.
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