Kenya’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN, Martin Kimani, reflects on his nation’s role as a “clear voice for Africa” on the Security Council, and stresses the importance of calling out hypocrisy and colonial nostalgia on the global stage. Taking us behind the scenes of the UN’s vote on Ukraine, he argues that Western countries should not have framed it as a matter of “East versus West”. He also discusses the challenges of nation building and explains why he would bet that African officials are some of the most advanced political engineers in the world.