The Trump administration recently shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAID), arousing scrutiny of the agency’s mandate, which many argue extends beyond humanitarian aid to clandestine operations financing US imperial interests. The USAID’s stated goal was to ‘advance US foreign policy interests.’
About 40,000 direct and indirect employees in Kenya have lost their jobs, and two-thirds of international staff are being recalled to the United States, effectively ending USAID’s operations in Kenya.
USAID invested approximately $436 million in aid for ‘democracy, human rights and governance’ in Somalia, Nigeria, Sudan, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Kenya during the 2022-23 fiscal year. According to the UN, the US government was Kenya’s largest foreign donor, contributing $207 million, or 58.8 per cent of total donations, followed by the United Kingdom and Germany.
As @drmumbiseraki (X), host of @drmumbishow (X), expounds in this video, Kenyans could do without the colonial whiff of foreign interference, both economically and socially. The deep infiltration of Kenya’s institutions has stifled the country’s independence and forced Kenyans to rely on foreign aid. That meant that the US had the last say on many issues affecting the country. According to Seraki, a revolutionary shift is about to take place. Listen in and share your thoughts.
Video credit: @drmumbishow (X)
Sources:
https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2025-02-06-usaid-exit-spells-doom-for-kenyan-jobs-and-funding
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01436590120084575
https://fts.unocha.org/countries/116/donors/2024?order=total_funding&sort=desc
https://www.developmentaid.org/news-stream/post/190784/impact-of-us-90-day-aid-suspension-on-kenya