Uhuru congratulates Trump, says ties that bind Kenya and US “close and strong”

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump on his victory in the US presidential election, and pledged the friendship between the two countries will remain close.

In a statement, President Kenyatta said, “The ties that bind Kenya and the United States of America are close and strong. They are old, and based in the values that we hold dear: in democracy, in the rule of law, and in the equality of peoples. These values remain dear to the peoples of both nations, and so our friendship will endure.”

As a cross section of Kenyans struggled to come to terms with the results of the US presidential elections, Amani National Congress Party leader Musalia Mudavadi also expressed his congratulatory message to American voters for upholding democracy and handing businessman Donald Trump a hard-fought victory.

In his statement Mr Mudavadi noted that in Mr Trump’s triumph, there are lessons for Kenya, such as “upholding the will of the people by giving everybody a chance is the best form of democracy. That despite the dirty campaign bordering on character assassination, the candidates addressed issues dear to Americans,” he said.

Mr Mudavadi expressed hope that as Kenyans go to the polls next year, “we will not borrow dirty bad manners and forget issues such as mega corruption, a stagnant economy and unsustainable national debt, ethnic exclusion and devolution.”

To the disappointed supporters of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in Kenya, Mr Mudavadi said, “Your favourite may not have won but you should feel emboldened by her tenacity.”