Veteran career diplomat Ambassador Ken Vitisia is hanging his boots after 35 years of service.
Vitisia retired on Thursday, leaving the courteous and organised diplomatic corridors for the murky waters of Kenyan active politics.
He will on Friday officially declare his interest in the Vihiga parliamentary seat, which is held by Ernest Kivai Kagesi.
Vitisia, also known as Umusedi, latest posting was in Burundi as ambassador and the special envoy to the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.
The ICGLR comprises of Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
In an interview with the Star on Wednesday, Ambassador Vitisia reviewed his diplomatic career and his transition into active politics.
Vitisia's first posting was in New Delhi, India, in 1991, where he credits his tour with increasing the number of students in the country and ensuring their welfare. He also says he initiated the import of Indian technology into Kenya’s Jua Kali sector.
At the MFA headquarters, he worked as PA to then PS Mutuma Kathurima and on various desks, among them Europe, Asia, Middle East and Administration.
He also had a stint in Dubai, the UAE, as the deputy head of mission.
In 2008, he became Middle East Division director, from where he coordinated the first ever Kenyan expo in Dubai, which was attended by President Mwai Kibaki.
INTRODUCTION TO BURUNDI
It is, however, his posting to Burundi in 2010 that would shape Vitisia’s peace diplomacy in the region.
“At the time, Kenya wanted to enhance its footprints in the Great Lakes region and I was posted to Burundi as the deputy ambassador, deputising Ambassador Benjamin Mweri."
"In 2012, Kibaki was the EAC chairman and he handed over to President Pierre Nkurunziza. So, part of my work was to assist with the Burundi integration into the bloc,” Amb Vitisia explained.
“During that time, 2012, President Kibaki appoints me ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Kibaki says because of the good work I did in the Middle East, we have problems in Saudi Arabia because of the Kenyans being mistreated there. But I don’t go. Because it is an election year, it draws problems from the Somalis and Muslim community,” he narrated.
President Kibaki, however, appointed him as special envoy to the Great Lakes region.
It is during his time as the special envoy that political problems started in Burundi in 2015.
The crisis was triggered by President Nkurunziza’s refusal to step down following his second term in office in 2015, as stipulated in the Arusha Accords and the 2005 Constitution.
The decision to pursue a third term, which he finally secured, triggered months of protests and a failed coup attempt in May 2015.
More than 250,000 Burundians, according to the Crisis Group, fled the country, a humanitarian crisis followed while the democratic space in the country shrunk.
It is here that Ambassador Vitisia comes in.
“Burundi stakeholders said they wanted me back to assist in bringing Burundians together as I had made friends across the board. To add to that, presidents [Jakaya] Kikwete, [Yoweri] Museveni and Uhuru [Kenyatta] recommended that I become the co-facilitator to the Burundi peace process,” Vitisia said.
He was to assist former Tanzania President Benjamin Mkapa — now deceased — who was the facilitator. At this time, he was also appointed ambassador to Burundi by President Kenyatta.
Their job, with Mkapa, was to bring dialogue and ensure free and credible elections in 2020.
“And that happened. You have even seen US President Joe Biden has said things have improved and removed the sanctions. This is our work. I can confidently say I did Kenya proud,” he notes, adding that he was the architect of the Burundi peace process.
BURUNDI DEFENDER
Vitisia was known as a defender of Burundi, which even got him into problems when he criticized a UN report that accused Nkurunziza’s government of human rights violations.
The UN Independent Investigation on Burundi had in September 2016 said there has been widespread and systemic patterns of violations that suggested they were “deliberate and the result of conscious decisions,” adding that President Nkurunziza’s government should stop the violations.
Vitisia, however, stands his ground, saying it was not factual.
“It was also not helpful in the Burundi peace process. We were in Burundi. We were seeing what was happening. The UN was releasing reports from Geneva and New York and we were on the ground.
“I was a defender of Burundi at the international community: That give Burundi a break, give us a chance to bring proper elections in Burundi. Up to now, I am a hero in Burundi and I was given the highest honor even given to foreigners in Burundi,” he said.
Reacting to his relationship with the late President Nkurunziza, Vitisia says he had to be close to him because he was the only one who would talk to him.
As Kenya’s envoy to Burundi, Vitisia says he was also able to facilitate Kenyan exports, the opening of Kenyan companies in the country such as KCB and Jubilee Insurance as well as employment of Kenyans as teachers.
He also informs that he was the architect of President Evariste Ndayishimiye’s state visit to Kenya in May/June during Madaraka Day celebrations.
“We can get a lot in Burundi. We can also assist Burundi in many ways as we have done a lot behind the scenes,” he says.
He is now leaving peace diplomacy to join politics, seeking to represent Vihiga constituents on the ANC party ticket.
Asked what incentivizes his bid, Vitisia says he is seeking to “speak for the people of Vihiga”, accusing the incumbent of not representing the constituents in Parliament.
Kivai was in June named among the 34 MPs on the Mzalendo Trust report who reportedly never spoke in Parliament in 2020.
“I have contacts in government and internationally and I can speak, because I am eloquent at it, for the people and represent them better,” he says.
This is, however, not the first time Vitisia is seeking an elective seat.
He sought the Vihiga seat in 2007, in which he finished second with 8,000 votes, losing the race to Yusuf Kifuma Chanzu of ODM.
Better known in Vihiga as Umusedi, the uplifter, Vitisia says he wants his politics to be inspirational, of hope and empowerment and to be a yardstick on how constituencies should be run.
