US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman resigned on Wednesday, coming a week after the stunning return of Donald Trump to the White House, and sustained calls from angry Kenyans for her ouster.
Ms Whitman, an American businesswoman who became only the second female American ambassador to Kenya, said she had tendered her resignation to outgoing US President Joe Biden.
The Embassy will now be under the leadership of Chargé d’Affaires Marc Dillard.
In a press statement, Ms Whitman highlighted her achievements in the position, citing the various trade, health and security deals that Kenya signed with the US such as the elevation of Kenya as its first major non-NATO ally in sub-Saharan Africa.
“I am proud of leading a people-centred agenda that saves lives, increases security, and creates economic opportunities for Kenyans and Americans.
“From delivering emergency funding to alleviate catastrophic flooding in 2023 to the ongoing fight against malaria, HIV, and MPOX, the U.S government prioritizes the health and welfare of our friends in Kenya,” Ms Whitman said in a statement.
The former Wall Street chief executive had arrived in Kenya just as Nairobi geared for elections, which saw William Ruto rise to the helm as the fifth President in 2022.
She had replaced Kyle McCarter, an appointee of Donald Trump’s first term who had quit earlier in 2021 after Joe Biden trounced Trump. Both were political appointees, not mainstream diplomats. By November 2024, Whitman had about a year left on her tenure, going by the American tradition of sending envoys to stations for three years, with rare exceptions of extensions.
In her time, Ms Whitman pushed for stronger business ties with Nairobi but also came under fire for supposedly looking the other way when government operatives violated civil liberties.
A public defender of the William Ruto presidency, she was once described by opposition leader Raila Odinga as a ‘rogue ambassador’, although the two later reconciled as shown in appearances at public events. Mr Odinga himself has since realigned with Ruto.
But Ms Whitman has also been criticised for failing to speak out about abuses, including abductions and disappearances of civilians, especially after the Gen Z protests in early June. Western diplomatic missions took about ten days to condemn the violence.
Two weeks ago, however, she condemned reported police use of mobile phone tracking to nail suspects, following an expose by the Nation. But critics accused her of refusing to sign a statement by envoys calling for urgent investigations into disappearances.
Prominent lawyer Gitobu Imanyara publicly called on Trump to recall her, saying “we as Kenyans have something to celebrate” if the new president ends her tenure. Trump will not have to do that now. Instead, he will have to find a new envoy to replace her.
Although appointed by Mr Bien from the US Democratic Party, Ms Whitman herself is a Republican and was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of California in 2010. She was also a senior member of former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaigns. Romney was defeated by Barack Obama.
However, in the 2016 election, Whitman threw her support behind Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who lost to Donald Trump.
In the 2020 election, she endorsed current President Joseph Biden.
Born in New York in 1956, Whitman studied mathematics and science at Princeton University (1974) and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School (1979).
She has held senior positions in some of the world’s biggest companies, including a stint as an executive at Walt Disney in the 1980s.
On Wednesday, she also expressed confidence that Kenya’s relationship with America will continue under the new administration.
“I have no doubt that our 60 years of partnership will continue to strengthen and serve Americans and Kenyans as we aim to build more prosperous, healthy, secure, and democratic nations,” she said in her resignation statement.
