Fri 29 Aug 08 | 20:44 GMT
You are here: Home > Kenya Elections > Article

Kenya government lashes out at UK envoy

Thu 14 Feb 2008, 11:11 GMT
[-] Text [+]

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan foreign minister lashed out at Britain's high commissioner on Thursday after the diplomat told local TV that the government did not reflect the democratic will of the Kenyan people.

High Commissioner Adam Wood was speaking in a KTN interview after President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election at December 27 polls triggered riots and ethnic attacks killing at least 1,000 people and uprooting 300,000 more.

Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said Wood's comments showed "total disregard" for diplomatic etiquette, and he threatened to take unspecified action if the incident was repeated.

"The high commissioner is still hell bent to wreck the boat," Wetangula said in a statement.

"While we have acted with restraint, continued provocation will not be tolerated further and the government will not hesitate to take appropriate remedial measures."

A spokeswoman at the British High Commission in Nairobi said Wood was only reiterating the British government's position.

In the interview late on Wednesday, the UK ambassador cited irregularities in the presidential polls that were documented by local and foreign election monitors.

"In view of these irregularities, we do not find that the government that is presently constituted represents the democratic will of the Kenyan people," Wood said.

Kenya won independence from Britain in 1963. Relations have often been prickly since then, and the current crisis has prompted government officials to sharply criticise Western envoys they accuse of acting like "colonial governors".

Last week, Washington said it had warned eight Kenyans they could be barred from entering the United States on suspicion of stoking the violence since the election.

Full Name: Republic of Kenya

Population: 36.9 million (July 2007 est.)

Capital/Biggest City Nairobi

Area: 582,620 Sq km

Language English, Kiswahili and local languages

Religions Christianity, Islam, Hindu (minority Asians)

President Mwai Kibaki

More Facts

Key Contenders

Portrait of Mwai Kibaki
Mwai Kibaki

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki's vast experience, with a political career as old as his nation, was put to test severely when his disputed re-election in a Dec. 27 poll triggered unprecedented violence and chaos in the East African country.  

 Full Article 

 
Portrait of Raila Odinga
Raila Odinga

Dubbed the "kingmaker" for helping put Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki in power five years ago, Raila Odinga lost what some say was his best chance to dethrone his former ally in Kenya's Dec. 27 election.

 Full Article 

 
Kenya in Turmoil 

Latest pictures from the aftermath of the Kenya Elections