Koert Lindijer has been a correspondent in Africa for the Dutch newspaper NRC since 1983. He is the author of four books on African affairs.
The Dutch state visit to Kenya, already fraught with controversy due to an internet campaign against the visit, got an extra controversial tail. No, there were no demonstrations by Gen Z youth as announced, it was President William Ruto who provided the surprise. Apparently a bit irritated that King Alexander and his wife Maxima had such a candid conversation with Gen Z youth on the first day after the official reception, the president conjured up a surprise during the state dinner. Instead of giving the floor to King Alexander after his introduction, the president, completely against protocol, let loose on the Dutch royal company an unannounced eulogy on Ruto.
The role was reserved for Partrick Verkooyen, the rector of the University of Nairobi and a native from the Netherlands. “Let him make a few remarks,” said Ruto, after which Verkooyen began a fiery speech. And in keeping with the tradition among Kenyan politicians, Verkooyen praised Ruto to the skies. That was a stark contrast to the Gen Z youth which a day earlier, had denounced Ruto to the king as a “murderer” and “violator of the constitution” because of the numerous kidnappings of young protesters after the mass demonstration last June.
Patrick Verkooyen
But Verkooyen argued in a loud voice about Ruto: “You are working on strengthening democracy”. According to him, Ruto was working on “true leadership in the world, you are working on unity in the world”. After which he repeated the theme of his speech: “Build bridges, not walls”. Ruto nodded in agreement and concluded with satisfaction: “You have it right here.”
Members of the Dutch delegation later said they were “not amused” by the unannounced speech. And journalist Jan Hoedeman wrote in the Dutch newspaper AD: “In his speech, Verkooijen seems to want to defend President Ruto, who is under fire both inside and outside Kenya for human rights violations and possible kidnappings. King Willem-Alexander spoke about that in his speech, without mentioning President Ruto. According to various organisations, human rights in Kenya have been under pressure since the government cracked down hard on a protest against tax increases last summer. Dozens of people died as a result. Professor Verkooijen did not say a word about that.”
It had been clear for some time that the king was torn during this visit. He came as the flagship of Dutch business, as a loyal trading partner of Kenya. But the Dutch culture of pointing the finger requires that something be said about the human rights situation during such a business visit. The king later dismissed the incident involving Verkoeyen with the phrase, repeated many times during this visit, that sincere criticism must be possible within a good relationship. “We are equal and honest with each other”.
That raises the question of how mutual that openness is. So I asked the king whether Kenyans are now also allowed to throw tomatoes in the Netherlands, whether they are allowed to criticize abuses in the Netherlands, such as the treatment of African migrants, or perhaps riots around an Israeli football club. “Yes, they are also allowed to express their concerns to me,” the king replied, adding with a smile “as long as they are not using real tomatoes”.
Such a state visit is above all a show, with hundreds of hands to shake for the royal couple. A Dutch king has no power, his entire performance is a theater of symbolism. The fact that he was still able to criticize the human rights situation in Kenya is remarkable, although you wonder whether he would dare to make such a critical move in, for example, the much more powerful China. Equally striking is the irritated reaction of the Kenyan government. So the Dutch visit may have achieved something for the human rights situation after all, more than the critical Gen Z members who opposed the visit could have predicted.
The royal couple with members of Gen Z
Pictures by the RVD
