Kimani said Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected diplomacy in favor of military force, which has put the international norm of multilateralism “on its deathbed.”
He warned Russia to respect its border with Ukraine, using Africa’s colonial past to highlight the dangers of stoking the “embers of dead empires.” “Rather than form nations that looked ever backward into history with a dangerous nostalgia, we chose to look forward to a greatness none of our many nations and peoples had ever known,” Kimani said.
Kimani has deep experience both with Africa’s struggles and with the broader history of warfare and conquest. Before his diplomatic post to the U.N., he was a top official in Kenya’s efforts against extremism and terrorism. He holds a doctorate in war studies from King’s College London, as well as an undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire, according to the U.N.
