Kenya’s president has complained that no British prime minister has visited the east African country for 30 years, delivering a diplomatic rebuke to Theresa May in a press conference on the final day of her visit to the continent.
Uhuru Kenyatta told May he was pleased she had “found time” to visit and went on to struggle to remember Boris Johnson’s surname at the culmination of a three-day trip aimed at boosting Britain’s trade and diplomatic presence in the country.
The president began proceedings by saying he was glad May had “honoured our invitation to come and see for yourself our country and continent that has changed in the last nearly four decades since a UK prime minister visited”.
The last British prime minister to visit Kenya was Margaret Thatcher in 1988. Since then, despite historic links between the two nations, the east African country has increasingly turned to China and the US for support and investment.
Appearing at the state house in Nairobi in a joint press conference with May, Kenyatta was asked about the agreement to allow stolen funds in Britain to be returned to fund Kenyan health, education and other development projects.
He said: “Last year if you recall the foreign secretary – then Boris, erm, Boris, Boris Johnson – the bicycle guy – Boris Johnson was here with ambulances.
“These ambulances were bought courtesy of funds that had been seized, returned and utilised to buy ambulances which were distributed across the country.
“I believe this only strengthens that and the ability of our two countries and legal systems to be able to work together to ensure that any assets that may have been acquired in the United Kingdom – that are associated with corruption or any other such crime – are successfully returned and put to use for the benefit of the people of the republic.”
Johnson quit as foreign secretary earlier this year over Brexit.