This archive report was first published on 23 July 2019.
Published on July 23, 2019, Boris Johnson's rise to power has been met with both excitement and concern, particularly given his past controversies involving Kenya and Africa.
As the new Conservative Party leader, Johnson is set to take over from Theresa May on Wednesday, with his predecessor formally tendering her resignation to Queen Elizabeth II.
However, Johnson's history of gaffes has raised eyebrows, including his 2018 remark where he was mocked by President Uhuru Kenyatta as 'the bicycle guy'.
During a joint press conference in Nairobi, President Kenyatta ridiculed Johnson on the world stage, highlighting the tension between the two leaders.
Johnson's past comments have also sparked controversy, including his 2017 visit to Kenya where he reminisced about his earliest memories of Nairobi, pointing at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre and recalling standing there as a little boy.
He also made headlines for his comments on black people, referring to them as 'piccaninnies' and talking about 'watermelon smiles', as well as his attack on Barack Obama, saying the 'part-Kenyan president' had an 'ancestral dislike of the British Empire'.
