By Kevin J. Kelley

Washington, DC, 10 March 2007 - Recently announced aid increases and a de-emphasis on corruption in Kenya indicate that the United States is "now basically supporting" President Mwai Kibaki's bid for re-election, ODM-K presidential aspirant Raila Odinga has told the Sunday Nation.

The administration of President George W Bush is providing these forms of political assistance in exchange for President Kibaki's "support for the American project in Somalia," Mr Odinga said in an interview.

He pointed to reports in the US Press that Kenya had cooperated closely with the successful American-Ethiopian military campaign against Islamist forces inside Somalia.

The Lang'ata MP added that President Kibaki could still be defeated in the coming election despite the Bush administration's backing for an extension of his tenure in office.

"The United States doesn't have a vote in Kenya," Mr Odinga said. "We will adjust our strategy to counter the US stance."

Mr Odinga said he complained last week to two members of the US Congress about American favouritism toward Mr Kibaki. In meetings in Washington, Mr Odinga said he argued that "a more democratic Kenya would in the end be a better ally for the United States."

The ODM hopeful pointed out that he was honoured last week by a group in the state of Florida for his efforts to promote democracy in Kenya.

The Bush administration is now "looking the other way on corruption" in Kenya, Mr Odinga charged.

He cited the recently awarded $12.7 million grant intended to help Kenya meet US anti-corruption criteria for eligibility for the multi-billion-dollar Millennium Challenge Account.

In announcing the grant last month, the head of the Millennium programme praised Kenya's "results-oriented programme to root out corruption and improve the economic environment that leads to poverty reduction and prosperity."

The US State Department is also taking a noticeably less critical view of corruption in Kenya.

The department's new global human rights survey has little to say about high-level graft in its section on Kenya. President Kibaki's administration also receives a generally positive appraisal in the human rights report released in Washington last week.

In addition, Mr Odinga noted, President Bush's proposed US budget for 2008 includes sharp increases in funding for initiatives to combat Aids and malaria in Kenya.

Mr Odinga is scheduled to return to Kenya tomorrow following a two-week safari in the United States and a stopover in London.

He carried out what he described as "limited fund-raising" among the Kenyan community in the states of Minnesota, Texas and Florida as well as in the Washington DC area. Mr Odinga said he received modest donations for his presidential campaign because "the income of these people is not very high."

In meetings with Kenyans living in the US, Mr Odinga urged they be given the right to vote in elections at home, either through the Internet or in coordination with Kenya's embassy in Washington. He also said Kenyans abroad should be eligible for dual

While in Washington, Mr Odinga said he told members of the US Congress that the American travel alerts warning of terror threats in Kenya were "unfair."

At the same time, he acknowledged to the American lawmakers that an upsurge in violent crime in Nairobi does warrant concern. The Kibaki administration has not done enough to make the streets safe, Mr Odinga said, charging that arms from Somalia continue to pour into Kenya illegally.

Mr Odinga also met with US business executives to discuss investment opportunities in Kenya.

Source: Daily Nation