Kenya and almost every African country was birthed by the ending of Empire.

Our borders were not of our own drawing.

They were drawn in the distant colonial metropolitan of London, Paris and Lisbon, with no regard

for the ancient nations that they cleaved apart.

Today across the border of every single African country, live our countrymen, with whom we

share deep historical, cultural and linguistic bonds.

At Independence had we chosen to pursue states on the basis of ethnic, racial or religious

homogeneity, we would still be waging bloody wars these many decades later.

Instead we agreed that we would settle for the borders that we inherited.

But we would still pursue continental political, economic and legal integration.

Rather than form nations that looked ever backwards into history with a dangerous nostalgia,

we chose to look forward to a greatness none of our many nations and peoples had ever known.

We chose to follow the rules of the organization of African unity and the United Nations

Charter, not because our borders satisfied us, but because we wanted something greater forged

in peace.

We believe that all states formed from empires that have collapsed or retreated, have many

peoples in them yearning for integration with peoples in neighboring states.

This is normal and understandable.

After all, who does not want to be joined to their brethren and to make common purpose with

them?

However, Kenya rejects such a yearning from being pursued by force.

We must complete our recovery from the embers of dead empires in a way that does not plan

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