NAIROBI - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken appealed Wednesday for the preservation of democracy in politically and ethnically fractured societies as he opened his first official visit to Africa in Kenya amid worsening crises in neighboring Ethiopia and Sudan.In a lengthy, private meeting with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and other top officials, Blinken hailed Kenya’s role in seeking to ease the conflict in Ethiopia and as an example of a vibrant, inclusive democracy despite challenges it has faced in its own recent elections.Kenyatta visited Addis Ababa over the weekend in a bid to bolster an African Union-led mediation initiative to end the violence in Ethiopia that has engulfed the northern Tigray region and spread, prompting.