Mudavadi says Kenya has One China policy, not recognising Taiwan as independent state

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi waded into the controversy of President William Ruto's attendance of the funeral service of the late Pope Francis at the Vatican, even after he had dispatched National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula to represent the country.

Mudavadi said the President was set to attend the funeral but the challenge was for him to conclude his engagements in China early enough to be in Vatican for the Pope’s funeral but he managed to do that and it was regrettable that some Kenyans were making jokes out of the matter.

Mudavadi, who appeared before the Senate National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations Committee, said that it was responding to Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who had raised the matter, which has been subject to jokes on social media.

“The President had planned for the China trip earlier, the worry was that he could not be able to conclude his busy schedule on time for the Pope’s funeral and designated the National Assembly Speaker to represent him, but he managed and arrived on time for the ceremony,” said Mudavadi.

Mudavadi at the same time said that it was in the best interest of the country that we worked with  China as one country since the country stands to gain immensely.

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The CS said that Kenya has a one-China policy and does not recognize Taiwan as an independent state because it is in our strategic interests to maintain that.

Sifuna had also sought to know what informed the decisions the country takes to recognize some countries as independent states and not others, asking him to come clear on the matter to forestall diplomatic conflicts.

“When the President was planning to go to China, some legislators also planned to travel to Taiwan, and if this was allowed, it could have caused a diplomatic crisis, yet Kenya stands to benefit due to the one-China policy with Taiwan being part of it,” said Mudavadi.

The Committee Chairperson, Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo, asked Mudavadi to provide to Parliament a list of countries that members should visit and which ones they should not after Sifuna narrated an incident in which he was deported at the Airport in Angola two months ago.

Sifuna who acknowledged the efforts made by the Kenyan Ambassador in Angola to ensure he was treated well pointed out that if he was informed, he was not needed in that country he would not have travelled there only to be embarrassed at the Luanda Airport and being denied entry.

Mudavadi reiterated that the country is committed to dialogue with all warring parties in Sudan, South Sudan, and Congo DRC, stating that the country does not have any interest in making it a fan of conflict in the three countries and was working with other partners to ensure peace is maintained.

“Kenya has since independence avoided interfering in the internal affairs of other countries; that is why we have resorted to engaging with all parties in the Sudan, South Sudan, and Congo DRC conflict to ensure we play a part in bringing peace in the three countries,” said Mudavadi.

Sifuna had wondered why the country was allowing crime to be committed in its jurisdiction with Rapid Support Forces and M23 factions holding meetings which has led to Sudan and DRC Congo having diplomatic spats with Kenya.

Mudavadi said that Kenya was committed in ensuring that lasting peace was achieved in both Sudan, Congo DRC, and South Sudan, terming it as the reason the country was engaging with all parties involved in the conflict in the three countries.

He told the committee that transparency on the issuance of scholarships will be part of the sessional paper adoptions, bringing to an end inequality and unfairness witnessed in the past, stating that every part of Kenya must get an equal opportunity when it comes to sharing such opportunities.