Nairobi News

A United States-Africa Trade and Investment Roundtable meeting took place in Chicago, USA, on September 13.

According to a statement by former cabinet secretary for former East African Community Adan Mohamed, he was in charge of the Kenyan delegation at the meeting.

Mr Mohamed is the current Economic Adviser to President William Ruto as part of the larger Council of Economic Advisors.

“Leading the Kenya Delegation to the US- Africa Trade & Investment Roundtable in Chicago, USA,” announced Mr Adan Mohamed.

Also read: Captivating details of Citizen TV’s Sam Gituku after Moses Kuria TV showdown

Ideally,  Investment, Trade, and Industry Cabinet Secretary Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria should have led delegates to the American meeting.

However, his poor relationship with American trade ambassadors appears to have prevented him from doing so. Instead, CS Kuria is currently trending in Kenya for being caught manipulating facts on live national television while Mr Mohamed “took over” his duties in America.

As part of conversations regarding President Ruto’s performance since forming government one year ago, CS Kuria was among three other cabinet secretaries invited to the panel to discuss a number of topics, including universal healthcare, the Hustler Fund, and the cost of living in Kenya.

CS Kuria and Citizen TV’s Sam Gituku engaged in a showdown over what the real price of a litre of edible cooking oil currently retails for.

CS Kuria quoted a significantly lower figure, prompting Citizen TV to have a reporter report live from a supermarket in President Ruto’s home County to show the true price of the oil.

Also read: Now in charge of Kenya: Speaker Moses Wetangula

Moses Kuria went viral for lying about the price of the cooking oil, prompting a section of Kenyans to use this moment to justify their claims that the Kenya Kwanza government often lies about its achievements as part of building its reputation.

Moses Kuria’s visible absence in America stems from a fallout he had with American Trade Ambassador Katherine Tai, the Principal Trade Advisor and Spokesperson on U.S. trade policy, in July 2023.

Ms Tai refused to meet with Moses Kuria, citing his “extremist” controversial statements on and off social media against individuals and institutions.

Nation.Africa reported that Ms Tai had CS Kuria locked out of the US-East Africa Community Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (Tifa) council meeting that took place in Nairobi after being labelled an “unwanted host.”

She also blocked other meetings with CS Kuria but met with his counterparts.

Later, on July 19, 2023, President Ruto met with the American trade representatives, and visibly absent from the photo op from State House Nairobi was Trade CS Moses Kuria.

However, front and center on the photo and one person removed from President Ruto was Mr Adan Mohamed.

Mr Mohamed’s social media handles still read ‘CS Adan Mohamed’, prompting speculation that he could possibly be tapped to replace Moses Kuria should a cabinet shakeup take place.

Also read: Go to Ruiru! CS Kuria embarrassed on live TV over cost of cooking oil