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Wetangula Reacts to British
Envoy Claim
The East African Standard (Nairobi)
15 February 2008
Abiya Ochola
Nairobi
The Government has reacted sharply to remarks by British High
Commissioner that President Kibaki's administration does not
reflect the democratic will of Kenyans.
Foreign Affairs minister, Mr Moses Wetangula, termed the remarks
by Mr Adam Wood as a breach of diplomatic etiquette.
"While we have acted with restraint, continued provocation will
not be tolerated further and the Government will not hesitate to
take appropriate remedial measures."
Wetangula, however, declined to specify the appropriate measures
to be meted against the diplomat or Britain. "The High
Commissioner is still hell bent to wreck the boat," Wetangula said
in a statement.
Wood said in an interview on KTN that the Government did not
reflect the democratic will of the Kenyan people.
In the interview on Tuesday night, Wood, asked if Britain
recognised Kibaki, said: "Formally we recognise States, not
governments. The minister, speaking in the House of Commons
recently, was representing our view after the irregularities in
the presidential polls that were documented by local and foreign
election monitors".
Earlier, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs,
Ms Meg Munn, had told the House of Commons that the UK did not
recognise Kibaki's presidency.
Relations between Britain and Kenya's political elite have swung
between cordial and frosty depending on the issues at hand.
But after Britain, a former colonial master, joined ranks with the
EU in declaring that Kibaki's re-election was a subject of
contention after its observer team unearthed irregularities, any
statements by Wood have received threats from Government,
including his expulsion from the country.
His predecessor, Sir Edward Clay, has been declared persona non
grata in Kenya.
Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister, Ms Martha Karua, has
accused envoys from western nations of acting like colonial
governors in their relations with Kenya.
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