The presidents of African countries are seen ferried in a bus during Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in the UK. This didn’t go down well with Netizens in Africa especially in Kenya where the photos of such demeaning encounter received mixed reactions.
Among the leaders was President William Ruto, seated next to him was his wife Rachel Ruto. President Ruto was seen smiling in a photo that circulated the internet, this caught many Kenyan’s attention.
The focus deviated from the Queen funeral to the way the African Presidents were handled. Most citizens complained of why Presidents from developed countries were given preferential treatment while our own were treated like second class Presidents.
President Biden, arrived at the funeral service in the armor-plated Cadillac known as the “Beast,” was given an exception to the security measures.
Perhaps this brought back the memories of colonialism and racism aspect that African are exposed to. The colonial memories reminded the citizens how Africans were mistreated, tortured and exploited in the hands of a white man.
Racism has also denied black people opportunities as well as being discriminated against the law. In Kenya, some citizens were wondering why President Ruto left a bleeding economy to attend a funeral in UK where they are not even recognized as Presidents of sovereign countries.
African leaders should actually learn from this example, and focus in making African nations great with a mountain of opportunities. Instead, most African leaders have emptied public coffers and went to invest in European countries such as UK.
Mike Sonko was not amazed as he call this “Shenzi sana”. He wondered what could happen to Africa God forbid if an accident happened and all those presidents are dead. This is a reckoning lesson to African continent to refocus on its future if we were to gain respect from our partners.