New US envoy set to land in Nairobi, finds packed in-tray as 2027 campaigns heat up

Henry Wooster, President Donald Trump's nominee to be US ambassador to Kenya, is now set to arrive in Nairobi after the US Senate confirmed his appointment by unanimous consent, filling a post left vacant for nearly two years. He is set to find a packed in-tray.

Wooster, a career diplomat and former US ambassador to Jordan who most recently served as Chargé d'Affaires in Haiti, was cleared alongside a batch of other career foreign service appointments in a late-night Senate session that also confirmed Keith Sonderling as US Secretary of Labour.

He lands at a delicate moment as political campaigns heat up ahead of Kenya's August 2027 general election.

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month, Wooster declared that Washington is "not picking sides" in the presidential contest.

"We are not choosing A over B, or any other party. What we are looking for is stability, i.e., no violence," Wooster said in response to questioning from Senator Chris Coons (Democratic-Delaware), who raised concerns about the potential for political violence.

His emphasis on neutrality appears designed to avoid a repeat of the controversy that engulfed his predecessor, Meg Whitman, a billionaire former eBay chief executive who served as US ambassador to Kenya from 2022 to 2024.

In August 2023, Whitman told a devolution conference in Eldoret that Kenya's 2022 general election was "the free-est, fairest, and most credible election in Kenyan history," remarks that drew sharp criticism from the opposition and praise from the government.

Then-opposition leader the late Raila Odinga responded furiously. "Tell the rogue Ambassador Kenya is not the United States and it is not a colony of the United States; keep your mouth shut while here, otherwise, we will call for your recall to your country," the late Odinga warned.

The episode became a defining feature of Whitman's tenure, with critics accusing her of meddling in Kenya's domestic affairs. Whitman resigned in November 2024 following Trump's election victory, leaving the embassy without a confirmed ambassador.

The post is currently led by Chargé d'Affaires Susan M. Burns, a temporary chief of mission. The current Deputy Head of Mission at the US Embassy in Nairobi is Carla Benini, who is serving as the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission.

Wooster also put the Ruto administration on notice regarding corruption in key health programmes.

Under questioning from the US senators, he acknowledged historical concerns with the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), the government agency that buys and distributes medicines. KEMSA has previously been accused of diversion and theft of donated commodities.

The health cooperation framework, signed in December 2025, is a five-year, $2.5 billion (Sh322.5 billion) bilateral agreement that establishes a government-to-government partnership for the detection, prevention, and response to infectious disease threats.

Under the framework, the US plans to provide up to $850 million (Sh109.7 billion) for programmes including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The combined US and Kenyan commitments bring the total framework value to Sh316 billion.

Kenya was the first country to sign such an agreement under Washington's "America First Global Health Strategy."

But the arrangement has raised alarms at the USAID Office of Inspector General, which in a situational alert warned the State Department of "significant vulnerabilities in KEMSA's core business processes" identified in past investigations.

The OIG noted that under the proposed framework, Kenya intends to utilize KEMSA, the state-run corporation under the Kenyan Ministry of Health, for procurement, warehousing, and distribution of US-funded health commodities.

Past OIG investigations into a $650 million (Sh83.9 billion) USAID award to KEMSA uncovered systemic problems. As a result, USAID reprogrammed over $32 million (Sh4.1 billion) in funds away from KEMSA, and in 2021 the Secretary of State notified the Kenyan government that it was "no longer tenable" for the US to continue working through KEMSA for the importation, warehousing, and distribution of health commodities.

The OIG said it has "no information indicating that KEMSA undertook significant reforms" since then.

The OIG identified several specific vulnerabilities: transnational diversion of commodities, including HIV and malaria test kits; corrupt procurement processes involving "pay-to-play" schemes and kickbacks at the highest levels of KEMSA; internal control weaknesses in warehouse operations, including pallets without barcode labels and unresponsive logistics systems; and an unsecured supply chain management system where orders were transmitted through editable spreadsheets that could be altered to inflate orders and divert excess commodities.

"There has historically been diversion. The OIG from the Agency for International Development, which still continues notwithstanding AID's dissolution, they are still present on the ground looking into this," Wooster said.

Shaheen revealed the USAID's inspector general made 11 arrests last month for diversion from KEMSA.

In September this year, USAID OIG led a field operation targeting 18 pharmaceutical premises across Kenya, resulting in two arrests, 11 individuals compelled to report for further proceedings, and the closure of at least four pharmacies. Investigators seized thousands of medical commodities, including more than 2,000 tablets of co-trimoxazole antibiotics traced to KEMSA, as well as hundreds of expired, defective, or improperly distributed prescription medicines.

A separate long-term investigation concluded with two foreign nationals, a Kenyan and a Guyanese, charged with conspiring to illegally divert US-funded HIV test kits and other commodities from KEMSA between 2014 and 2019. One was convicted in the United States and ordered to pay an $84,000 (Sh10.8 million) fine, the other remains in Kenya awaiting trial.

"Corruption of any form is cancerous. It's cancerous to government services delivery, it's cancerous to the public trust in government," Wooster replied, adding that there is a statutory requirement in the US embassy in Kenya for oversight.

Wooster, whose recent tenure in Port-au-Prince coincided with the deployment of Kenyan police to lead the Multinational Security Support mission, praised Kenya's role in Haiti.

"They stood up. And they took that, they undertook that mission, and it's a daunting mission," he said on Kenya.

"Haiti is on the precipice, and for the United States, it's primarily an issue of, once it leaves the shores of Haiti, that issue becomes immediately then a migration issue," he said, adding that "Kenya walks its talk about global security."

On trade, Wooster said his priorities would include deepening economic ties with Kenya.

President William Ruto is now back in the country after attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he was accompanied by key officials.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Ruto met senior US officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Their discussions focused on critical minerals, trade, AI, and regional security.

Washington is keen to advance an agreement with the Ruto administration covering rare earth minerals at Mrima Hills in Kwale County, a deposit estimated to hold more than Sh8 trillion (about $62 billion) worth of critical minerals.

The rare earths, used in everything from electric vehicle batteries to wind turbines and defense systems, have become a coveted investment for global powers, with China, the United States and European nations all seeking access to African reserves.

Ruto's political rivals have also been courting American audiences. Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who leads the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), is currently in the United States on what his team describes as a "meet the people" tour.

Just months earlier, Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka made a similar visit.

Ruto is seeking re-election for a second term, and early campaigning has pitted him against a fragmented but increasingly coordinated opposition.

Gachagua has centered his campaign on a "Wantam" (one-term) message aimed at unseating Ruto, and has been working alongside Kalonzo. Fred Matiang'i, the former interior minister, is also a principal in the united opposition and a key figure in the unity talks.

Running in parallel is the Linda Mwananchi movement, led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who has declared his intention to challenge Ruto in 2027.

The opposition has vowed to unite behind a single candidate, though agreeing on who will carry the presidential ticket remains their biggest test.

The United States has said it will not favour any candidate in the presidential contest and its only interest in the transition is stability.

Kenya's last three presidential elections have been marred by allegations of irregularities, and the 2007-08 vote was followed by widespread ethnic violence that killed more than 1,100 people.

The poll-related violence that followed in successive elections affected the operations of key agencies in the country, including the US, disrupting public services and economic activity.

In the run-up to next year's elections, as campaigns kick off, there has been a rise in goon violence, raising the prospect of a return of political violence.

Incidents have been reported in Homa Bay and other areas, where rival factions have clashed, echoing the pattern of past electoral cycles.