Uhuru in quiet diplomatic protest, claims he is “too busy” to receive new diplomats

The Star Tuesday, October 8, 2013

FIVE ambassadors cannot take up their duties country because President Uhuru Kenyatta is unable to receive their credentials in what observers claim might be a quiet ‘diplomatic protest’ by the government.
Five newly appointed envoys from Germany, France, Belgium, Austria and Italy have not been able to present their credentials to the president due to what government officials say is ‘a scheduling problem’ as a result of the President’s “tight diary.”
The delay in receiving the envoys’ credentials may extend even longer once President Uhuru’s crimes against humanity case starts at the International Criminal Court on November 12 as scheduled.
This means that if the President’s diary cannot accommodate the affected envoys in the next three weeks, the earliest they can present their credentials and start working will be December or January 2014.
Yesterday, sources said if the president’s application to have his case start in January next year had been allowed, he would have been able to receive the envoys’ credentials as well as attend to other state functions and responsibilities.

The ICC judges have however rejected Uhuru’s application for January hearing date and ruled that the case must commence on November 12.
Last Friday, Foreign Affairs principal secretary Karanja Kibicho said the government had asked countries intending to post new ambassadors to Kenya to wait as President Kenyatta is too busy to receive their credentials.
He explained that this does not mean closure of the affected embassies as key functions will now be under the deputy head of missions.
Letters of credential are documents that ambassadors, diplomatic ministers, plenipotentiary, and chargés d’affaires provide to the host government to which they are accredited, for the purpose of communicating the envoy’s diplomatic rank. It also contains a request that full credence be accorded to his official statements.
Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 article 13 (i), until his/her credentials have been presented and found in proper order, an envoy receives no official recognition.
The credentials of an ambassador are signed by the head of state, those of a chargé d’affaires by the foreign minister. A host government may reject a diplomat’s credentials by declining to receive them, but in practice this rarely happens.

The convention however does not put a time frame within which the president of the host country should accept the credentials once a new envoy arrives in the host country.
On September 9, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent out an advisory to embassies not to commit themselves because State House had not given them a detailed diary of the President.
The ministry asked the countries to delay the arrival of new envoys due to the President’s tight diary. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would communicate an appropriate date on when the envoys can present their papers.
Diplomatic and government sources have told the Star that the failure to create time for the ambassador is a “quiet diplomatic protest” by President Uhuru against some Western nations which have not been supportive of the governments efforts to have the ICC cases against Uhuru and Deputy President William Rut referred back to Kenya or Arusha Tanzania.
“He believes these powerful countries are behind his tribulations at the ICC. His priority right now is to serve Kenyans, everything else comes second,” said a source in government.
Uhuru’s political advisor Joshua Kutuny has however denied that Uhuru is quietly protesting against some Western nations.
“People should not read too much in this. They should avoid speculation. The president believes in good relations with the international community and our neighbors,” said Kutuny.
He said the president has been particularly busy in recent weeks. “He was in China and then when he came back he went straight to Mombasa for nearly 10 days and then after that he had other engagements before the Westgate mall attacj happened,” explained Kutuny.
In May, British High Commissioner Dr Christian Turner was kept waiting for over three weeks before finally getting an appointment. Its claimed that Uhuru was reluctant to meet with Turner after his inauguration on April 9 even though the envoy was supposed to deliver a congratulatory message from UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
Uhuru was angered by Turner’s statements before the March 4 election that the UK would only have “essential contacts” with him if he was elected president because he is an ICC indictee.
Uhuru has so far received credentials from five newly appointed ambassadors since his April 9 inauguration. These are from the Norwegian ambassador to Kenya, Dr. Hanns Brattskar, ambassador Maria Eugenia Correa Olarte of Colombia, the Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See, Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo, ambassador Marcella Maria Nicodemos of Brazil and ambassador Jhony Fredy Balza Arismendi of Venezuela.
On September 17, the President skipped the United Nations Annual General Assembly meeting because his deputy William Ruto was at the Hague attending proceedings of his case. The Constitution stipulates that the President and his deputy cannot be out of the country at the same time.