Exit Uhuru Kenyatta, East Africa's big hugger, glad-hander and master of soft power

It was signature Uhuru Kenyatta to hug his peers and give them backslaps like none of them. PHOTOS | POOL

In the past 10 years the Kenyan president has perpetuated an unblinking business-led foreign policy in the region, playing the main character in the play. As he exits the stage, he might well say, with his bow to the audience: "East Africa is our plate. You don't pee where you eat," writes Charles Onyango-Obbo.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta's political rodeo will end a few weeks after the August 9 General Election. With that, the East African Community (EAC) will see the departure of its most extroverted president. There was more, though, to Uhuru's gregariousness than a happy lad.