Kenya ministers’ joyride for 5-minute UN speech

Kenya has sent a 13-member delegation to make a five minute speech at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva where the government is to be accused of executing suspects.

Five ministers have been flown First Class to Geneva, the second most expensive city in the world, for Wednesday’s meeting, along with a team of government officials and two bodyguards. Yet, only the leader of the delegation will be allowed to speak, according to one UN staffer.

UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston is expected to get his five minutes to comment on his report, which accuses the Kenya police of illegally killing suspects.

Alston’s findings

One half of the Kenyan delegation, made up of Attorney-General Amos Wako, Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo and Security minister George Saitoti opposes Prof Alston’s findings.

The other half, comprising Lands minister James Orengo and East African Cooperation minister Jeffa Kingi, representing ODM, supports Prof Alston and would like his recommendations implemented.

Mr Orengo and Mr Kingi joined the delegation after Prime Minister Raila Odinga protested that the initial list did not reflect the broad view of the Grand Coalition. A meeting with President Kibaki at State House on Monday secured the two ODM ministers tickets to Geneva.

The three-day assignment will cost taxpayers more than Sh5 million, according to the Nation’s calculations. It remains to be seen whether that is prudent use of public funds at a time when the economy is on the decline and the Treasury is cutting costs to keep the country afloat.

Others in the delegation are Justice permanent secretary Aminah Mohamed, Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe, a deputy secretary in the ministry of Internal Security, Mr Amos Gachetha, the chief litigation officer at the AG’s chambers and two other senior government officers.

A UN official, who cannot be named because he has no authority to comment on the matter, said Kenya will be given five minutes to respond to Prof Alston’s report either through Mr Kilonzo, the Justice minister or Mr Wako, the government’s legal advisor. The Government submitted its written response to Prof Alston’s report last week.

The UN official said at most only three seats — one for the main speaker and two for key members of the delegation — may have been reserved for the Kenyan delegation.

Majority of the seats, said the UN staffer, will be taken up by UN Human Rights Council member states such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and other members of the European Union who are likely to use the session to punch holes in the Kenyan defence.

Despite being aware of the protocol at meetings of UN agencies, Kenya sent a big delegation mainly due to rivalries in the Grand Coalition.

Former Justice minister Martha Karua, who is familiar with such meetings, said it was a waste of money to send a delegation of 13.

“Only one person, who is the leader of the delegation, will be allowed to speak. The rest of the team are just joy-riders. A bloated government will always have a bloated delegation,” she said.

“This is a team with people representing the views of only PNU and ODM... there is need for a government stand, but not party positions,” she said.

The delegation left the country on Monday night and Tuesday morning, ostensibly to reverse the damage inflicted on the country’s image regarding its human rights record.

Government sources said they flew Swiss Airlines, first to Zurich and then connected to Geneva, which is on the border with France. According to current fares, a return first class ticket costs an average of Sh200,000 ($2,440).

And given that all the five ministers flew business class, it means that they cost the taxpayer Sh1 million. It was not clear whether Mr Kiraithe and Ms Mohamed flew first class.

If they joined the rest of the delegation in economy, where a return ticket costs Sh90,000 ($1,049), the total bill to the taxpayers for eight passengers comes to Sh720,000.

According to government rates, a minister on international travel receives an allowance of Sh100,000 excluding accommodation and meals. This means that for three days they will be in Geneva, the five ministers will receive a total of Sh1.5 million as per diem.

Allowing an average of Sh50,000 per diem for each of the other officials for the same period, the amount comes to Sh1.2 million, or Sh2.7 million for the entire team. Geneva, for those who know it, is one of the most expensive cities, perhaps only second to Monaco, in France.

A quick check of the hotel rates reveals that the government delegation will spend Sh1.9 million for a three-day stay. A night at the Intercontinental Hotel, a stone’s throw away from the UNHRC offices, goes for at least Sh46,800 ($600). This means that for a 13-member delegation to be accommodated at the hotel, tax payers will be incurring a bill of Sh608,400 a day.

These are only conservative figures which do not include the cost of meals and being chauffeured around the city, from the airport to the hotel, to the UNHRC offices and back to the airport.

In its response to Prof Alston’s report, the government questioned the Rapporteur’s conduct while investigating the executions. It also accuses him of overstepping his mandate. “His questioning of the very basis of the Kenyan State and in particular its institutions is totally unacceptable, and impinges on Kenya’s sovereign rights.”

Prof Alston makes wide-ranging recommendations, among them the sacking of the police commissioner, Maj Gen Hussein Ali and the resignation of the Attorney-General.

On Tuesday, ODM National Executive Council defended the party’s move to send two ministers to Geneva as part of the government delegation.

A joint NEC-cum-parliamentary group meeting said Mr Orengo and Mr Kingi were in Geneva as a sign of ODM’s commitment to democracy and truth. “You cannot defend the government if there’s no government position,” party secretary-general Anyang Nyong’o said.

Meanwhile, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has made submissions to the UN Human Rights Council to provide further information on extrajudicial killings. The public human rights watchdog contradicts the government’s position by supporting the implementation of Prof Alston’s findings

Reported by Bernard Namunane, Lucas Barasa, Kibiwott Koross and Oliver Mathenge