Envoy Appointments-Now Kenya Adds Nepotism, Cronyism and a Dynasty to its Export Portfolio

Written last year 2010 – 05/10/2010, Republished today 16th. May 2011 on writer’s request.

• Written by David Ochwangi 

The just revealed list of appointments of Kenya’s ambassadors/envoys to various stations around the world, discreetly revealed to the media even after the government promised highest ethical standards and transparency; the appointments are so shrouded in supreme secrecy and done in the dark, exposes yet another rot and excesses in a government too drunk and too arrogant with power to care about any ramifications of the outcome of its follies. It is not enough that the country’s image has suffered immensely around the world in recent years or that this government spends Millions of dollars to spruce its image abroad, it is not enough that the government courts a criminal enterprise, Mungiki,  to sell the draft constitution while shunning Christians, it is not enough that this government also promised to fight impunity, corruption and provide most opportunities to all Kenyans irrespective of tribe or family background; now it comes out that this government has not only failed to practice what it preaches but is now the biggest champion of double speak and hypocrisy, making a complete mockery of public service where performers are relegated to back offices and non-performers are rewarded with awards, family and friends are appointed to the most strategic posts around the world; how do you reconcile Wako being the best performer in Kenya when corruption is so rampant and murderers are roaming free in Kenya’s streets?

How do you reconcile the appointments of members of one family as envoys to the United States, both as Ambassador and Consul General respectively against nepotism? Isn’t this a clear conflict of interest? How do you reconcile the appointment of the personal assistant to the PM as ambassador to Egypt against cronyism? How do you reconcile appointments of complete neophytes to to key diplomatic appointments against cronyism? Kenya is a country of almost 38 Million people, hundreds if not thousands of them qualified career diplomats, why weren’t they picked for these positions? Something is badly wrong with this picture; good people stand up, evil triumphs when good men say nothing, and at this rate, we are perilously headed down a very dangerous path.

These appointments confirm yet again that the rot in government is excessive and has metastasized  to dangerous levels, abuse of office and authority is the norm in Kenya now as the coalition government only pays lip service to its pledges and cares not what ordinary Kenyans think , that the cries for fairness, equality and expansion of opportunity to all Kenyans by PM Odinga were in fact a ruse whose outcomes and benefits were primarily  meant for and intended for his family and those in his inner circles and not necessarily all Kenyans including those who shed blood ignorantly for this cause! Almost all the recalls and administration changes the Coalition government has made over the last year have overwhelmingly and disproportionately favored the PM’s family and those closest to him-not the General Kenyan population, it is an unbridled expansion of the Odinga dynasty and I think it is just plain wrong. 

Nepotism has no place in modern day Kenya and it is wrong to export it outside of Kenya much less to the United States of America! President Obama and Secretary Hillary Clinton have railed against this practice; these are the injustices, ironically, that the PM rallied the country to campaign against Presidents Moi and Kibaki; these are the arguments he made to “Kenya’s friends”, Dr. Annan and the team of “Eminent Personalities” in demanding “Portfolio Balance” in the Grand Coalition that reflected the face of Kenya and yet now it is now palpably clear that the only “Portfolio Balance” worth any mention is skewed in favor of this family; is this what Kenyans died for in 2007/2008? To bestow, expand opportunity, power and influence unto just one family!  Just less than a year ago, the Consular General in Los Angeles was recalled to Kenya and replaced by the PM’s sister, hitherto a chemistry professor; there is no record or evidence cited of her qualifications for the top rated diplomatic position in such a strategic location nor do we know of any shortage of qualified experienced diplomats who would have filled the spot. Fast forward to present, a decision has been made to recall H.E. Ambassador Ogego from Washington and his place will be taken by the PM’s Brother in law! That is a clear conflict of interest to have such a management hierarchy in the same office where relatives run Diplomatic affairs of an entire nation of Kenya in the United States of America. The reported designee to Washington is Ambassador Elkanah Odembo, just recently appointed as ambassador to France and is being elevated to the US, is married to the PM’s first cousin, who is the sister to the Government Chief Whip Jakoyo Midiwo, the MP for Gem and an ODM stalwart. Even companies have policies designed to prevent or at least mitigate conflicts of interest and many bar same family members from working is similar positions and reporting to each other. Odinga’s sister in LA will be supervised by her brother in-law in Washington, DC, this is just plain wrong and I wonder if Secretary Clinton and President Obama are aware of this arrangement and whether or not they will condone it, we’ll see. 

Dave Arunga, designated to Egypt was the PM’s “Personal Assistant” and is being rewarded with Ambassadorship to Egypt.  I mean the least is simply endless, the PM’s brother, Oburu Odinga is an Assistant Minister for Finance, other Odinga relatives in high positions include Deputy PM Musalia Mudavadi, Minister Fred Gumo, etc, etc. This is but a synopsis of the wider web of the PM’s family dynasty power expansion in government courtesy of the Coalition government but I don’t think this was the intent of “Portfolio Balance” under the “Power Sharing” agreement- this is not what the US Administration had in mind; rampant nepotism in government coordinated and supervised by the PM. We the people can no longer stand by and do or say nothing as this will only get worse and lead to more ethnic tension, I mean the in your face audacity in these appointments is stunning! Now some of the PM’s supporters are so emboldened by these developments that they now openly dare those of us not happy with these shenanigans to “swallow blades” or “hang yourselves”! 

Kenya has a long list of distinguished and experienced career diplomats that the government can pick from and avoid creating yet more tensions among the population or tarnishing the country’s image abroad and it is disheartening that these people are denied these opportunities, particularly the young graduates and students of diplomacy, the message is very clear, your education and credentials don’t matter, your name and relations is all you need to land a plum appointment in Kenya. Didn’t PM Odinga “fight” the Moi and Kibaki governments against this? President Kibaki, are you aware of these shenanigans? Did you approve of this? Is this how you improve Kenya’s tarnished image abroad, exporting nepotism and cronyism? If it is, let me assure you right now that you have lost on this one, WATCH! Foreign Affairs Minister Wetang’ula, are you in on this sir? Why was this exercise conducted in such secrecy? What are you guys hiding?

What you may also not know is that this action by the Kenya Government in this regard would have bad unintended consequences touching on President Obama himself. Conservative media stations such as FOX NEWS NETWORK whose primary mission, it seems, is to detract and besmirch the US president have attempted numerously in the past to link PM Odinga personally to President Obama; so much so that they will invariably see these appointments as an Odinga-Obama nexus to run Kenya and the US and pounce on it big time; trust me, President Obama is way above these pettiness and yet it is possible that his name would unwittingly be drawn into this especially around election time, you got to be very careful Kenya! You have no clue how these networks embellish information, violence, communism, socialism, etc, etc, are all media synonyms for the Odinga-Obama agenda; I wouldn’t do this if I were you; the irony is that Ambassador Ogego’s stand in defense of President Kibaki’s administration has played extremely well politically in the US for the President. Kenya can buy all the public relations expertise to influence the US perception of the country but that can only take you guys so far, it is a waste of resources; the US Administration is not stupid, they can read and see through these schemes, give the administration some credit, they are extremely competent, you can’t hide nepotism, tribalism, cronyism from the Administration especially if you are exporting it to their homeland! Get a grip. 

Finally, the Kenyan government must get its priorities straight; focus on getting the constitutional draft right first and avoid alienating key stakeholders in this process; prosecute PEV perpetrators, ALL of them starting at the top just as Ocampo has promised to do, he can only take so much of a caseload; prosecute corruption at all levels; resettle IDPs; avoid these rotten shenanigans of growing dynasties on the backs of Kenyans and run a clean open, ethical  and transparent government not beholden to special interests or familial ties, we ALL have a stake in our government and ALL Kenyans deserve and MUST be permitted to participate, NOT just the few family members and the well connected, nepotism and cronyism are unethical, they breed and fuel animosity. STOP!

05/10/2010