This was preceded by sometimes frosty interludes during President Moi's regime when the two countries often clashed over bad governance issues, resulting in aid suspension and many diplomatic rows.

Following the election of the new government of Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013, relations somewhat took a dip when the new president forged a new foreign policy looking east away from traditional western allies.

[5] The United States soon found itself invested in Kenyan politics due to the power struggle between Tom Mboya and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.

[7] The fact that Soviet ideals never gained traction in post-independence Kenya meant that there was little to no jockeying between the United States and the U.S.S.R. in this region.

In 1987, the chairman of the Congress subcommittee on Africa, Michigan congressman Howard Wolpe, accused Daniel arap Moi of bankrolling criminals and committing human rights abuses.

[12] Even when United States pressure forced multiparty elections in 1992, relations were tense all throughout the 1990s due to international discontent with the tactics of the Moi regime.

[15] On 7 August 1998, al Qaeda terrorists detonated a car bomb outside the United States embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, leaving 200 dead and thousands wounded.

In its dialog with the Kenyan Government, the United States urges effective action against corruption and insecurity as the two greatest impediments to Kenya achieving sustained, rapid economic growth.

In an article titled "The Big Bloody Burden of The Big Brother" published by the Daily Nation, one of the two mainstream Kenyan Newspapers, the writer, Ben Mutua Jonathan Muriithi wondered why "the Obama administration and others before it had turned a blind eye yet it was clear that Kenya had suffered as a Collateral damage".

[20] Kenya's National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS) received a list of two hundred suspects linked to Al-Qaeda in late September 2001.

[21] Following Al-Qaeda attacks in Mombasa in 2002, new president Mwai Kibaki created the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit to further counter-terror operations.

"[22] During this period, The United States heavily tied USAID support directly to military and counterterror operations undertaken by the Kenyan Defense Forces.

[25] The United States is urging Kenyan President William Ruto to address claims of extrajudicial killings and abductions by police during protests that started in June 2024.

[28] The United States initially threatened to pull its aid unless the violence was addressed, but political will for such a step waned throughout the year.

[28] The election of Barack Obama in 2008 was greeted with great optimism from Kenya, who felt pride in him due to his Kenyan father.

[31] The Obama era also saw U.S. assistance to Kenya grew "exponentially," as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) put in a 2012 document.

The number of USAID projects had grown significantly enough for the agency to justify hiring additional contractors to help it manage its Kenyan program portfolio.

A Statement of Work for the support initiative acknowledged that "the level of U.S.-financed Kenyan operations has outpaced Washington's ability to adequately manage it.

[28] The Kenyatta presidency was notably cold towards the United States prior to the terrorist attack on Kenya's Westgate mall.