Ambassador Ken Vitisia Umusedi describes himself as an effective diplomat.
The immediate former Kenya’s envoy to Burundi as well as retired president Kibaki and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s special envoy to the International Conference for the Great Lakes region, retired this week after 35 years of diplomatic career.
Vitisa was born in Kegoye sublocation, Vihiga county. He went for his early education until 1973. From there, he joined Lenana School for his O and A-levels until 1980.
He proceeded to Cuttington University for his undergraduate studies and University of Liberia, where he studied BSC Economics.
Vitisia returned to Kenya and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1988 as a cadet. He was sent to Pakistan Foreign Service Institute, where he did his diploma in diplomacy and international relations.
His first posting was in New Delhi, India, as a third secretary.
“During my time, one of the notable things was the high number of Kenya students who came to India. I was not the education attache but the embassy made me the person in charge of students’ welfare. We had about 20,000 students,” he told the Star on Wednesday, a day before his retirement.
He was in India between 1991 and 1997, serving two consecutive terms, leaving at the rank of senior assistant secretary.
“If you speak to any student who studied in India at the time, they will tell you I assisted students in terms of their welfare,” he said.
So good was he at it, he says, that parents refused his recall, forcing then Foreign Affairs PS Sally Kosgei to extend his term.
He also says he facilitated the import of Indian technology to the jua kali sector in Kenya.
Vitisia returned in 1997 and became the PA to then PS Mutuma Kathurima, among other desks at the headquarters.
In 2001, he was posted to Dubai, UAE, as a counsellor. He says the UAE was not well known to Kenyans at the time and only 4,000 Kenyans were working there.
He says he brought hotels and airlines to recruit Kenyans from among other institutions, Utalii College.
By the time he left Dubai in 2006, nearly 40,000 Kenyans were working in the emirate on the initiative of the embassy.
They also opened a tea market in the UAE, and organised a three-month pavilion in Dubai.
Upon his return, he contested for the Vihiga MP, which he finished second garnering 8,000 votes. He lost to Yusuf Chanzu of ODM.
He returned to the ministry and became Middle East director. Here, he coordinated the first-ever Kenyan expo in Dubai.
Vitisia was in 2010 posted to Burundi as the deputy head of mission as Kenya sought to establish its footprint in the Great Lakes region. He was deputising Ambassador Benjamin Mweri.
He was to help with Burundi's admission to the EAC bloc.
While still in Burundi, Kibaki in 2012 appointed him ambassador to Saudi Arabia to help with the Kenyan mistreatment there. He, however, didn’t go following opposition by Somalis and Muslim community, arguing that the posting should be reserved for them.
Kibaki would, however, appoint him as Kenya’s special envoy to the ICGLR.
It is in this role that he organised the first international conference in Kenya under President Kenyatta’s regime. The ICGLR Youth Summit was funded by the UN under Secretary-General Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region Mary Robinson.
At this time, he was already ambassador to Burundi.
But the political problems in Burundi with the attempted coup would place Vitisia at the centre of the peace process.
Following months of protests, regional leaders recommended him as the co-facilitator of the peace process, assisting ex-Tanzania President Benjamin Mkapa, who was the mediator.
They were tasked with facilitating dialogue and ensuring credible polls in 2020. He says he is the architect of a successful peace process in Burundi.
Burundi is now back in the international community under the leadership of President Evarister Ndayishimiye, with the EU and the US lifting various sanctions against the East African country.
He says he is today a hero in Burundi, awarded the highest honours to foreigners by the Burundi government.
Vitisia also says that as the special envoy, he was the architect of the M-23 and DR Congo Peace Agreement (the Nairobi Declaration) that was signed in Nairobi in 2013.
After the 35 years stint, Vitisia is once again throwing his hat in the ring for the Vihiga parliamentary seat.
-Edited by SKanyara
