Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has added his voice to the global calls for equality, saying discrimination creates chaos.
Kenyatta made the remarks on Wednesday in an interview with the Atlantic Council, where he urged the U.S. to draw lessons from Kenya’s past experiences in its quest for racial equality.
“You are familiar with the scenario Kenya saw itself in in 2007 as a result of the ethnic clashes that we had. We can’t afford to have anybody feeling that they have been left out or left behind. So, ours is just to encourage all out partners across the globe. We have seen the problems when communities clash with each other. We have seen what it costs. We need one another,” he said.
Kenyatta’s remarks came as protests continue globally to bring an end to racial discrimination.
The protests were sparked in the U.S. by the death of an unarmed black man during arrest in Minneapolis.
George Floyd died on 25 May after a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes as he and his colleagues arrested him.
An onlooker’s cell phone recorded the incident showing the 46-year-old black man moaning, “Please, I can’t breathe” and “Don’t kill me” as the police officer pressed his knee onto Floyd’s neck.
After several minutes of the police officer pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck, the victim went silent and was later pronounced dead.
The video quickly went viral on social media, sparking widespread protest from Tuesday afternoon, some of which have deteriorated into chaos.
In his remarks on Wednesday, President Kenyatta said his administration is already seeking ways of alienating discrimination.
“We want to say that there is no community that is greater, superior or better than the other. We are all Kenyans and we must all be treated equally under the law and under the constitution. And that is the only thing I will tell our friends in America. Let’s do that. Let’s just make sure that the law is observed and the law is equal to all regardless of class, race, ethnicity. The law must apply equally. You can’t be heavy-handed on one segment against another,” he said.
