Kenya accuses West of political meddling

Kenya accused Western envoys on Friday of "shameless blackmail" and "gross condescension" for trying to pressure the head of the electoral commission out of his job over the chaotic presidential poll.

Local media reported this week that U.S. and European Union ambassadors visited Samuel Kivuitu, chairman of the Electoral Commission of Kenya, to urge his resignation or face a travel ban to their countries.

But some diplomatic sources said no such direct confrontation took place, though Western nations do support the recommendation of an independent inquiry that the commission be totally overhauled due its failures during the December vote.

Widespread irregularities and a disputed result led to two months of violence that killed at least 1,300 people and effectively paralyzed east Africa's largest economy. Public wrath after the crisis has focused on Kivuitu, with many Kenyans demanding the resignation of him and his team.

Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said he was outraged by the "audacious and blatant breach of protocol" by some ambassadors in their behavior toward Kivuitu.

"It is unacceptable for an ambassador accredited to Kenya to physically walk into an office of a holder of a constitutional office and directly confront him with the aim of attempting to force his resignation," he said.

"Such shameless blackmail, applied through open disregard of established norms of conduct of diplomats, in favor of a style and tone reminiscent of colonial mindset, is an insult to the Kenyan public."

Wetangula said President Mwai Kibaki's government would not tolerate such "a pattern of activism".

"I urge these individuals, who continue to demonstrate this grossly condescending behavior, to respect the proven ability of Kenyans to deal with this internal matter."

The diplomatic sources said Wetangula was exaggerating the matter and unfairly scoring points with the Kenyan public by playing the anti-colonial card.

The spat reflects growing impatience among Kenya's major donors at the slow pace of political reform in the east African nation, which won independence from Britain in 1963.

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Barely a day after the Kenya government accused Western governments of meddling in the country’s political affairs by demanding the resignation of Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), the United States government on Friday demanded the resignation of ECK officials for mismanaging last year’s disputed presidential elections.

In a statement issued to the press by the US embassy in Nairobi, the US demanded the resignation of ECK officials led by their chairman Samuel Kivuitu over the manner in which they handled the bungled elections that sparked countrywide violence that claimed more than 1,000 lives and displaced 350,000 people.

"The US Government has repeatedly made clear that the lack of transparency and accountability in the election vote tallying seriously compromised the credibility of the results," the statement said.

The credibility of the election results was brought into question and Kenyans have lost confidence in the electoral body, the statement added.

On Thursday, Kenya’s foreign affairs minister, Moses Wetangula told off the western diplomats for meddling in Kenya’s internal affairs.

Some European Union envoys accredited to Kenyans on Thursday held a closed door meeting at the ECK offices in Nairobi and sources indicate that they demanded that Kivuitu and his team resign.

Wetangula termed the move by the ambassadors as shameless blackmail, applied through open disregard of established norms of conduct for diplomats in favor of a style and tone reminiscent of a colonial mindset, which is an insult to the Kenyan people.

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