The African Union and Kenya have formally asked the U.N. Security Council to suspend an International Criminal Court prosecution of the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy on the grounds that it is undermining the Kenyan leaders' efforts to fight terrorism.

On Sunday, September 22, 2013, al-Shabab, a Somali-based al Qaeda cell unleashed gunfire on a Kenyan shopping mall, murdering 72 people and injuring over 200 others. The deadliest terrorist attack in Kenya since the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, the Kenyan mall shooting temporarily brought Africa to the forefront of U.S. news organizations like CNN, MSNBC, and Fox, who typically ignore the continent.

Shortly after the massacre at the Westgate Mall in Kenya, the alleged terrorists, al-Shabab, began tweeting about their motivations from the now-suspended account @HSM_Press. A handful of accounts, most tweeting in Arabic, cheered on the terrorist unit still inside the mall. After tweeting a series of names of alleged gunmen still inside the Westgate Mall, a second account, @HSM_Press2, was quickly suspended by Twitter.

In our series of letters from African journalists, a week after it was announced that vast quantities of underground water had been discovered in Turkana - an arid, poor region of Kenya where oil was also recently found - Joseph Warungu considers the East African nation's knack for making history. Kenyans have a unique talent for firsts - whether good or bad.

If a scientific global ‘perceptions survey’ were to be carried out today about the country, the most powerful images that come to mind are probably these: Kenya as the land of ‘Kitu Kidogo’, Kenya as the country of great long-distance runners (last year Kenyans won 31 of the 43 IAAF marathons – an impressive 72%); and Kenya as the country of M-PESA and Ushahidi technological innovations.

Countries from all over the world have converged at the second annual Nation Branding and Investment Expo in Netherlands, as the Brand Kenya Board coordinates initiatives for marketing the country in order to maximize its efficiency and maintain a good image. The expo allows Brand Kenya to position the country optimally in terms of investment, credit worthiness, tourism and international relations.

It would be disastrous for Kenya to overlook the benefits of liaising with Kenyans in Diaspora in regards to Nation Branding. However, the link with Diasporans should not only be linked to Nation Branding but the overall development of the mother country.