The Kenyan government on Nov. 6 unilaterally released three documents from a loan contract with the Chinese communist regime for the country’s massive China-funded railway project. The documents stipulate that Kenya cannot disclose the contents of the contract to any third party without the consent of the financier, the Chinese bank. The Kenyan government’s disclosure has therefore attracted considerable attention.
The contract, for the construction of the standard-gauge railway (SGR), was signed in 2014 by then Kenyan President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Ever since, many in Kenya have questioned issues such as corruption, high debt, unemployment, and project failure risk, which lead to the new Kenyan President William Ruto releasing the documents from the contract to fulfill his election promise.
