Kenya retaliates against the US by leaking its own diplomatic cables
President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga held a private meeting late into the night on the eve of Jamhuri Day to craft a response to the damaging gossip and rumours spread by US ambassador Michael Ranneberger through whistle-blower website, Wikileaks.
Two can play at that game, they decided, and begun retaliatory leaks through the very same WikiLeaks.
Excerpts: From Amb Ogego, Kenya Embassy, Washington DC/To Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nairobi/ February 30, 2009:
President Obama was sworn into office and showed very little recognition of our official representation. Prime Minister Odinga was relegated to the sidelines while villagers from Kogelo were feted.
This confirms my earlier assessment. Mr Obama takes the mentality of a junior senator to the White House.
That he would elevate his relatives from some remote village above the Kenya Government delegation betrays a nepotism and tribalism that should inform all our future dealings with him.
From MOFA NBI/ To Amb Ogego, DC/ April 31, 2009
We still need to know why President Obama spurns us so. Does he have a deep-seated grudge against his father that extends to his motherland? Find out whether he has undergone therapy or he is under any medication that might impair his judgment on his Kenya policy.
Finally, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has been inquiring persistently about our situation. We need some leverage. Can she be bought? The Whitewater scandal suggests she might be partial to some land deals.
Use whatever it takes to persuade her to bring Bill along on her Kenya visit. We know his weaknesses and have already lined up a whole bevy of beauties he won’t resist.
From Amb Ogego, DC / To MOFA, NBI / June 31, 2009:
President Obama is captive to the same old networks of corruption and impunity. Sec Clinton and Whitewater is just the tip of the iceberg on an administration that is deeply embroiled in graft.
The President comes from Chicago where entanglement of corruption and politics is legendary. During the campaigns, questions were asked about some shady land deals with the Chicago mafia that gifted him his family residence.
We are looking deeper into that and will give you full dossier ahead of Sec Clinton’s visit in August.
From Amb Odembo, DC /To MOFA, NBI / September 31, 2010:
As indicated in earlier communications, I intend to make a major change in the policy pursued by my predecessor. My relationship with the Rt Hon PM will grant me access to the Obama White House that was not available previously.
After all, I am also a cousin of the US President. My term will be committed to ensuring that President Obama makes a homecoming visit to Kenya during his first term. A second term seems rather remote.
We will also reach out to the ordinary Americans who need to see that our American policy is designed for their own good. We will empower them so that they can play a bigger role in shaping their own destiny, and get rid of the traditional ruling elite.
In the inner-cities, one encounters despair, poverty, and hopelessness. Drug addiction and crime are rampant. Broken families are the norm, and the education system has crumbled. The funds we are dishing out are making a positive impact that President Obama cannot ignore.
Our policies are viewed with admiration, as can be attested to by the long queues of eager youth outside the chancery each morning.
