

Currently released so far... 12404 / 251,287
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
2011/02/15
2011/02/16
2011/02/17
2011/02/18
2011/02/19
2011/02/20
2011/02/21
2011/02/22
2011/02/23
2011/02/24
2011/02/25
2011/02/26
2011/02/27
2011/02/28
2011/03/01
2011/03/02
2011/03/03
2011/03/04
2011/03/05
2011/03/06
2011/03/07
2011/03/08
2011/03/09
2011/03/10
2011/03/11
2011/03/13
2011/03/14
2011/03/15
2011/03/16
2011/03/17
2011/03/18
2011/03/19
2011/03/20
2011/03/21
2011/03/22
2011/03/23
2011/03/24
2011/03/25
2011/03/26
2011/03/27
2011/03/28
2011/03/29
2011/03/30
2011/03/31
2011/04/01
2011/04/02
2011/04/03
2011/04/04
2011/04/05
2011/04/06
2011/04/07
2011/04/08
2011/04/09
2011/04/10
2011/04/11
2011/04/12
2011/04/13
2011/04/14
2011/04/15
2011/04/16
2011/04/17
2011/04/18
2011/04/19
2011/04/20
2011/04/21
2011/04/22
2011/04/23
2011/04/24
2011/04/25
2011/04/26
2011/04/27
2011/04/28
2011/04/29
2011/04/30
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Apia
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Auckland
Consulate Amsterdam
Consulate Adana
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belmopan
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Ciudad Juarez
Consulate Chennai
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Consulate Calgary
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dili
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Helsinki
Embassy Harare
Embassy Hanoi
Consulate Ho Chi Minh City
Consulate Hermosillo
Consulate Hamilton
Consulate Hamburg
Consulate Halifax
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kingston
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kathmandu
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Consulate Kolkata
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Ljubljana
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lahore
Consulate Lagos
Mission USOSCE
Mission USNATO
Mission UNESCO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Mbabane
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manila
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Mumbai
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Consulate Milan
Consulate Melbourne
Embassy Nicosia
Embassy New Delhi
Embassy Ndjamena
Embassy Nassau
Embassy Nairobi
Consulate Naples
Consulate Naha
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Of Spain
Embassy Port Louis
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Suva
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate St Petersburg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
Consulate Toronto
Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Office Almaty
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius
Embassy Vienna
Embassy Vatican
Embassy Valletta
Consulate Vladivostok
Consulate Vancouver
Browse by tag
ASEC
AE
AF
AM
AR
AJ
AU
AORC
AG
AEMR
AMGT
APER
AGMT
AL
AFIN
AO
AMED
ADCO
AS
ABUD
ABLD
ASUP
ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG
APECO
AID
AND
AMBASSADOR
AN
ARM
AY
AODE
AMG
ASCH
AMCHAMS
ARF
APCS
APEC
ASEAN
AGAO
ANET
ADPM
ACOA
ACABQ
AORL
AFFAIRS
ATRN
ACS
AFSI
AFSN
ADANA
ASIG
AA
AX
AUC
AC
AECL
AADP
AGRICULTURE
AMEX
ACAO
ACBAQ
AQ
AORG
ADM
AINF
AIT
ASEX
AGR
AROC
ATFN
AFGHANISTAN
AFU
AER
ALOW
AZ
AVERY
BA
BY
BU
BR
BE
BL
BO
BK
BM
BILAT
BH
BEXP
BF
BTIO
BC
BBSR
BMGT
BTIU
BG
BWC
BB
BD
BX
BP
BRUSSELS
BN
BIDEN
BT
CW
CH
CF
CD
CV
CVIS
CM
CE
CA
CJAN
CLINTON
CIA
CU
CASC
CI
CO
CACM
CDB
CN
CMGT
CS
CG
CBW
CIS
CR
CONDOLEEZZA
CPAS
CAN
CWC
CY
COUNTER
CDG
CL
CT
CIC
CIDA
CSW
CHR
CB
CODEL
COUNTERTERRORISM
CTR
COM
CICTE
CFED
CJUS
CKGR
CBSA
CEUDA
CARSON
CONS
CITEL
CLMT
CROS
CITT
CAC
CVR
CDC
CAPC
COPUOS
CBC
CBE
CARICOM
COE
COUNTRY
CLEARANCE
CACS
CTM
CNARC
ECON
EFIN
ETRD
EUN
EFIS
EG
ETTC
EZ
EPET
EAID
EAGR
ENRG
ECUN
EU
ELAB
ECPS
EAIR
EINV
ELTN
EWWT
EIND
EMIN
EI
ECIN
ENVR
ELECTIONS
EINVEFIN
EN
ES
ER
EC
EUC
EINT
EINVETC
ENGR
ET
EK
ENIV
ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS
ECONOMY
EAP
EFTA
EUR
EUMEM
EXIM
ERD
ENERG
EUREM
ESA
ERNG
EXTERNAL
EPA
EINVECONSENVCSJA
ECONOMICS
ELN
EINN
EFINECONCS
ENNP
EEPET
ETRDEINVTINTCS
ENVI
ETRO
ESENV
ECINECONCS
ECONOMIC
EAIDS
EDU
ETRA
ETRN
EFIM
EIAR
ETRC
EAIG
EXBS
EURN
ECIP
EREL
ECA
ENGY
ECONCS
ECONEFIN
ETC
ETRDECONWTOCS
EUNCH
EINDETRD
IR
IZ
IS
IAEA
INRB
IRAJ
IQ
IN
IT
IMO
INTERPOL
ICAO
IO
IC
ITALY
ITALIAN
IRAQI
ICTY
ID
IPR
IWC
ILC
INTELSAT
IL
IBRD
IMF
IA
IRC
ICRC
ILO
ITU
ITRA
IV
IDA
IAHRC
ICJ
ISRAELI
IRS
INMARSAT
ISRAEL
ISLAMISTS
INDO
IZPREL
ITPHUM
ITPGOV
ITF
IBET
IEFIN
INR
IACI
INTERNAL
IDP
IGAD
IEA
ICTR
IIP
INRA
INRO
IF
KJUS
KSCA
KNNP
KU
KCOR
KCRM
KDEM
KTFN
KHLS
KPAL
KWBG
KACT
KGHG
KPAO
KTIA
KIRF
KWMN
KS
KG
KZ
KN
KMDR
KISL
KSPR
KHIV
KPRP
KAWK
KR
KUNR
KDRG
KCIP
KGCC
KTIP
KSUM
KPKO
KVIR
KAWC
KPIN
KGIC
KRAD
KIPR
KOLY
KCFE
KMCA
KE
KV
KICC
KNPP
KBCT
KSEP
KFRD
KFLU
KVPR
KOCI
KBIO
KSTH
KMPI
KCRS
KOMC
KTBT
KPLS
KIRC
KREL
KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KFLO
KBTS
KSTC
KTDB
KFSC
KX
KFTFN
KNEI
KIDE
KREC
KMRS
KICA
KPAONZ
KCGC
KSAF
KRGY
KCMR
KRVC
KVRP
KSEO
KCOM
KAID
KTEX
KNUC
KNAR
KNUP
KNNPMNUC
KLIG
KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KCRCM
KHDP
KGIT
KNSD
KOMS
KWMM
KPAI
KHSA
KTLA
KO
KMFO
KRCM
KCSY
KSAC
KTRD
KPWR
KID
KWNM
KRIM
KPOA
KCHG
KOM
KSCI
KFIN
KMOC
KESS
KWAC
KMIG
KSEC
KIFR
KDEMAF
KPRV
KBTR
KERG
KTER
KDDG
KPAK
KRFD
KHUM
KDEV
KCFC
KWWMN
KWMNCS
KJUST
MARR
MOPS
MU
MTCRE
MNUC
MY
MASS
MCAP
MOPPS
MAR
MPOS
MO
ML
MR
MASC
MX
MD
MP
MA
MTRE
MIL
MCC
MZ
MK
MDC
MRCRE
MAPS
MV
MI
MEPN
MAPP
MEETINGS
MAS
MTS
MLS
MILI
MTCR
MG
MC
MARAD
MIK
MILITARY
MEDIA
MEPI
MUCN
MEPP
MT
MERCOSUR
MW
MASSMNUC
MQADHAFI
NZ
NATO
NG
NI
NO
NATIONAL
NU
NPT
NIPP
NL
NPG
NS
NA
NGO
NP
NSG
NDP
NAFTA
NR
NC
NH
NE
NSF
NPA
NK
NSSP
NRR
NATOPREL
NSC
NT
NW
NORAD
NEW
NV
NSFO
NAR
NASA
NZUS
OTRA
OVIP
OPRC
OPDC
OSCE
OAS
ODIP
OIIP
OFDP
OVP
OREP
OFFICIALS
OSAC
OEXC
OPCW
OIE
OIC
OFDA
OSCI
OPIC
OBSP
OECD
ON
OCII
OHUM
OES
OCS
OMIG
OPAD
OTR
PGOV
PREL
PHUM
PINR
PTER
PSOE
PINS
PARM
PK
PBTS
PEPR
PM
POLITICAL
PARTIES
PREF
PBIO
PROP
PA
PSI
PINT
PO
PKFK
PL
PAK
PE
POLITICS
PINL
POL
PHSA
PU
PF
POV
PFOR
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PARMS
PRGOV
PNAT
POLINT
PRAM
PMAR
PG
PAO
PROG
PRELP
PPA
PCUL
PSEPC
PSA
PREO
PAHO
PGIV
PREFA
PALESTINIAN
PAIGH
POSTS
PTBS
PGOVLO
PORG
PGOVE
PLN
PINF
PAS
PUNE
POLICY
PDEM
PDOV
PCI
PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA
PBT
PHUMPGOV
PMIL
PNG
PP
PS
PHUH
PECON
POGOV
PY
PHUMPREL
PHUS
PRL
PGOC
PNR
PGGV
PROV
PTERE
PGOF
PHUMBA
PEL
RS
RU
RW
REGION
RP
RICE
ROBERT
RSP
RUPREL
RM
RO
RCMP
RSO
RELATIONS
REACTION
REPORT
RIGHTS
ROOD
RF
RFE
RIGHTSPOLMIL
SP
SA
SY
SF
SYR
SENV
SCUL
SOCI
SNAR
SO
SU
SG
STEINBERG
SHUM
SW
SMIG
SR
SZ
SIPRS
SI
SAARC
SPCE
SARS
SN
SYRIA
SANC
SL
SCRS
SC
SENVKGHG
SAN
SNARCS
SHI
SWE
SNARIZ
SIPDIS
SEN
SNARN
SPCVIS
SEVN
SSA
SH
SOFA
SK
ST
TPHY
TU
TRGY
TI
TX
TS
TW
TC
TFIN
TD
TSPA
TH
TT
TIP
TBIO
TSPL
TZ
TERRORISM
TRSY
TN
THPY
TINT
TF
TL
TV
TK
TO
TP
TURKEY
TNGD
TBID
TAGS
TR
UP
US
UNSC
UK
UZ
UE
UNESCO
UV
UNGA
UN
UNMIK
UNO
UY
UAE
UNEP
UG
UNHCR
UNHRC
USUN
UNAUS
USTR
USNC
USOAS
UNCHR
UNCSD
UNDP
USEU
USPS
UNDC
UNDESCO
UNCHC
UNFICYP
UNC
UNODC
UNPUOS
UNCND
UNICEF
UNCHS
UNVIE
USAID
UNIDROIT
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 09NAIROBI1829, VISAS DONKEY: CORRUPTION 212(F) VISA DENIAL
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #09NAIROBI1829.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
09NAIROBI1829 | 2009-09-01 08:08 | 2010-12-08 21:09 | SECRET | Embassy Nairobi |
Appears in these articles: http://www.spiegel.de/ |
VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB
DE RUEHNR #1829/01 2440858
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 010858Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0826
INFO RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3308
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
<<223100>>
09.01.2009 08:58
09NAIROBI1829
Embassy Nairobi
SECRET
08STATE81854
VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB
DE RUEHNR #1829/01 2440858
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 010858Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0826
INFO RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3308
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
TAGS: CVIS KCOR KCRM PGOV PREL ECON KE
SUBJECT: VISAS DONKEY: CORRUPTION 212(F) VISA DENIAL
REF: A. 2008 STATE 81854
S e c r e t nairobi 001829
Sensitive
sipdis
Dept for a/s carson, inl/c/cp, jane becker; nsc for senior
director gavin
E.o. 12958: decl: 08/27/2019
Tags: cvis, kcor, kcrm, pgov, prel, econ, ke
Subject: visas donkey: corruption 212(f) visa denial
Ref: a. 2008 state 81854
b. Td-314/081112-08
c. Td-314/081567-08
d. Td-314/083973-08
Classified By: Ambassador Michael Ranneberger, Reasons 1.4 b,d
¶1. (C) Embassy is seeking a security advisory opinion under
Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA),
Proclamation 7750, precluding the entry into the United
States of Henry Kiprono Kosgey and his family. Kosgey was
born in Nandi district, Rift Valley Province, Kenya on July
14, 1947. There is strong evidence that Kosgey has
consistently engaged in official corruption from at least
1987 to the present while holding a variety of ministerial
and parastatal director positions, and that corruption has
had serious adverse effects on both U.S. foreign assistance
goals and on the stability of Kenya's democratic
institutions. The following provides information requested in
ref A, paragraphs 26-28.
¶2. (C) Like many members of Kenya's political elite, Kosgey
has had a long career in politics and served in numerous
ministerial positions under the kleptocratic administration
of former President Daniel arap Moi. He has, however, also
continued to enrich himself at the public's expense while
serving as a member of Parliament (MP), as director of the
parastatal and now bankrupt Kenya National Assurance Company
and as Minister for Industrialization under the current
coalition government.
¶3. (C) Kosgey was first elected as MP of Tinderet
constituency in Rift Valley Province in 1979 under Moi's
Kenya African National Union (KANU) party. (Note: At that
time, Kenya was a single-party state.) He was re-elected as
MP in 1983, 1988, 1992, 1997, 2002, and 2007, when he ran as
a candidate under Prime Minister Raila Odinga's Orange
Democratic Movement (ODM) party. After becoming an MP, Kosgey
served under Moi as Minister for Transport and Communications
(1980-1985), Minister for Cooperatives Development
(1985-1986), and Minister for Culture and Social Services
(1987-1988). Kosgey, like Moi, is an ethnic Kalenjin from
Rift Valley province. Although he is a member of the Nandi
sub-tribe and not Moi's Tugen sub-tribe, he was for many
years a close and trusted associate of the former president.
From 1989 to 1992, he served as Executive Chairman of the
now-defunct parastatal Kenya National Assurance Company
(KNAC). From 1993 to 1996, he served as an MP but did not
hold a cabinet position. In 1996, he reentered the cabinet
when he was appointed by Moi as Minister for Environment and
Natural Resources (1996-1997). He subsequently served as
Minister for Tourism (1998-1999), Minister for Science and
Technology (1999-2001), and Minister of Education
(2001-2002). During President Kibaki's first term
(2003-2007), Kosgey reinvented himself as an ODM MP after Moi
left power in 2002. Following the formation of the coalition
government in February 2008, he was appointed by Prime
Minister Odinga as head of the newly-created Ministry of
Industrialization, a post he currently holds. He is also the
current chairman of ODM.
Embezzling funds, looting parastatal assets
¶4. (C) Open source reporting alleges that, when serving as
Minister of Culture and Social Services, Kosgey was part of
the team that brought in American marketing consultant Dick
Berg to assist Kenya in organizing and hosting the fourth
All-Africa Games in 1987. Berg's task was to assist the GOK
in raising funds to support the games; he is accused of
fleeing the country with roughly $2.6 million before the
games began. Kosgey is also alleged to have participated in
the looting of the assets of the Games' organizing committee
by misappropriating funds designated for costs associated
with the Games for his personal use. Kosgey is also accused
of looting the real estate assets of former parastatal Kenya
National Assurance Company (KNAC) when he served as its
director from 1989 to 1992. Under his management, KNAC is
also alleged to have made illegal loans and paid out
fradulent claims to politically connected individuals. By
illegally appropriating KNAC's most valuable assets, Kosgey
reduced the company to an undercapitalized shell that
ultimately collapsed and failed to meet its financial
obligations to pension and life insurance policy holders. At
the time the KNAC went into receivership, it held more than
$13 million in life insurance policies. As a result of the
collapse of KNAC, 900 employees lost their jobs and thousands
of Kenyans from all walks of life lost their pensions or did
not receive insurance payments upon the deaths of
beneficiaries. The former employees also allege that the
company owes them an estimated $655,000 in pension benefits.
Accused of grabbing public lands
¶5. (C) When President Kibaki first took office in 2003, he
ordered a number of commissions of inquiry aimed at examining
and correcting some of the worst corruption excesses of the
Moi era. Unfortunately, once the first blush of reformist
zeal had passed, there was almost no accountability for those
officials named in the commissions' reports or implementation
of the commissions' corrective recommendations. The Ndung'u
Commission was constituted in 2003 to investigate "irregular
allocation" or illegal privatization of public land in urban
areas, settlement schemes, forests, and reserves during the
Moi era. Its report, released in December 2004, was more than
2,000 pages long with annexes and provided the most
comprehensive analysis to date of shady land deals during the
Moi years (1978-2002). The commission recommended the
revocation of hundreds of land allocations, including many to
past and current political figures. To date, none of these
revocations have been implemented despite pledges by current
Minister of Lands James Orengo to do so.
¶6. (C) Kosgey (along with fellow minister Sally Kosgei) is
named in the Ndung'u report as the improper recipient of more
than 300 hectares of the South Nandi forest in 1999.
According to local anti-corruption NGO Mars Group Kenya, the
illegal carving out of a total of 1,170 hectares of forest
land was supposed to be part of a land swap in which Kosgey
and two other politicians would exchange the forest land for
farmland held by local farmers and the minority Ngerek
community. When the exchange took place, many of the intended
beneficiaries were excluded and rendered landless. In 1995,
Kosgey was serving on the board of directors of Kakuzi Tea
Company, which is still in existence and is publicly traded
on the Nairobi and London stock exchanges. He is accused of
colluding with other corrupt directors in stripping Kakuzi of
some of its prime assets by illegally transferring 97
hectares of Siret Farm (a tea plantation) to the Tinderet
Development Trust Company, a shell company co-owned by Kosgey
and his son Allan. In the face of declining global tea prices
and burdened by debt of more than $8.5 million, Kakuzi put
the remainder of Siret Farm up for public sale in 2007.
Involvement in post-election violence and opposition to
accountability
¶7. (S) In October 2008, Kosgey was named in the report of the
Commission to Investigate Post-Election Violence (CIPEV),
commonly known as the Waki Commission after its chairman,
Justice Philip Waki. The report alleged that Kosgey
participated in incitement, planning, and illegal financing
of post-election violence in and around his rural
constituency of Tinderet in the Nandi Hills district of Rift
Valley province. Tinderet is a tea-growing area, and many tea
pickers working on the plantations hail from western Kenya
and are ethnic Luo or Luhya. Many workers and their families,
who usually live in company-owned housing on the larger
plantations, fled or were driven out of the area during the
post-election violence by groups of youths who resented
non-Kalenjins being employed in the local tea industry.
¶8. (C) When the report was released, Kosgey joined a number
of his fellow ODM MPs in rejecting the Waki Commission's
findings, despite Odinga's public statements that the Waki
report's recommendations be fully implemented. Key
recommendations included setting up a local special tribunal
to try persons suspected of participating in post-election
violence and/or sending the dossiers on these individuals to
the International Criminal Court (ICC) for potential
prosecution. In his capacity as ODM chairman and as an MP,
Kosgey has repeatedly and publicly rejected both the local
tribunal and ICC options, joining some of the other MPs named
in the Waki report as instigators in calling instead for
healing and reconciliation. In public remarks on October 14,
2008, Kosgey stated that "the people in that list were not
given a chance to defend themselves. That is very unfair."
Questions on the maize scandal
¶9. (C) In early 2009, a national scandal erupted when a
number of prominent politicians, including Minister of
Agriculture William Ruto, were accused of speculating in
government-subsidized maize designated to feed the hungry
after the planting cycle was disrupted in many growing areas
by the post-election violence. (Note: Kosgey's constituency
was among those most affected, as it is located near the
epicenter of inter-ethnic violence in Rift Valley province.)
Twenty-one MPs and three ministers, including Kosgey, were
summoned for questioning by investigators at the Kenya
Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) in February 2009. Local
media reported that Kosgey was asked about letters he sent to
the National Cereals and Produce Board requesting an
allocation of subsidized maize.
Hiring and firing without transparency
¶10. (C) As Minister of Industrialization, Kosgey is
responsible for overseeing the operation, management, and
privatization of the Kenyan government's ten state
corporations. He also oversees the implementation of the
GOK's new "quality mark" requirement without which many goods
cannot be sold in Kenya. Many private sector companies,
including major U.S. companies like Eveready and Sara Lee,
have protested this new requirement adds unreasonable costs
to importing goods and discriminates against products
manufactured outside Kenya. Major private sector advocacy
groups, including the Kenya Association of Manufacturers
(KAM), have also noted the great potential for corruption in
implementation of the new quality mark requirement. In June
2009, KAM also accused Kosgey of illegally and unilaterally
removing some of the private sector members of the board of
the Kenya Bureau of Standards, the entity charged with
implementing the quality mark program. xxxxxxxxxxxx have told us that they have credible
information that Kosgey is benefitting illegally from the
imposition of the quality mark requirements (i.e., by taking
bribes from local producers in lieu of their actual
compliance with the new quality standards) and that he is
deeply involved in corruption.
¶11. (C) In July 2009, Kosgey was publicly accused by his
Assistant Minister Nderiti Mureithi (a member of Kibaki's
Party of National Unity) of improperly firing three heads of
parastatals (the Industrial Development Bank, the Kenya
Industrial Research and Development Institute, and the Kenya
Industrial Estates) without following proper procedures and
without consulting the boards of directors of those
companies. In an interview with national TV outlet NTV,
Mureithi called Kosgey "a throwback to the dark days of the
Moi era" and alleged that the three directors were
unilaterally fired by Kosgey without any consultation and
replacements selected by him without a transparent or
competitive recruitment process as required by Kenyan law.
Odinga ultimately had to intervene in the dispute and ordered
that the directors remain in office until the correct
procedures could be instituted to remove them.
Negative impact on u.s. National interests
¶12. (S) Stability of Democratic Institutions and Impact on
U.S. Businesses: Kosgey's involvement in inciting
post-election violence in Rift Valley province directly
contributed to the deaths and displacement of Kenyans and
significantly undermined the stability and security of the
region. Non-Kalenjin tea workers had to flee their jobs and
the tea industry was hit hard by the disruption of production
and interference with local transport routes. Displacements
in the region also disrupted the planting and harvesting
cycles and directly contributed to hunger and official
involvement in speculation in the maize market. Kosgey's
corrupt activities also have an adverse impact on U.S.
national interests in promoting the reform agenda agreed upon
in the Annan accord. Because he is an influential voice in
the Kalenjin community, Kosgey's repeated public opposition
to prosecution of perpetrators of violence, either locally or
internationally, has contributed to undermining public
confidence in the judiciary and will make it much more
difficult to pursue accountability in these cases. His
extensive illegally-acquired land holdings will motivate him
to oppose meaningful land reform legislation when it comes up
in parliament later this year. He is also likely to oppose
reform-oriented land policy changes in a new constitution.
His corrupt and unfair application of the quality mark
program has had a direct discriminatory impact on importers
and vendors of U.S. products in Kenya.
¶13. (C) U.S. Foreign Assistance Goals: Kosgey's diverse
corruption activities over decades have negatively impacted
U.S. foreign assistance goals in a number of ways. His
continuing ownership of illegally transferred forestry lands,
part of the greater Mau Forest which comprises Kenya's
largest water catchment area, has contributed to ethnic
conflict over land ownership in Rift Valley, and has also
contributed to deforestation and resulting drought and hunger
that currently plagues Kenya. Donors, including the United
States, have had to provide billions of dollars in emergency
food aid to Kenya over the last four years of chronic
drought, even in areas of Rift Valley that were historically
the most agriculturally productive regions of Kenya. His
looting of public and private company assets undermine
investor confidence, directly create job loss, and damage
public confidence in the security of pension funds. Kosgey
has repeatedly ignored government regulations for hiring and
firing directors of parastatals and, through these actions,
signals a profound disrespect for the rule of law which we
are striving to promote.
Additional information required for finding
¶14. (C) Kosgey has not been informed that he may be
ineligible for a U.S. visa under section 212(f) of the INA
and Proclamation 7750.
¶15. (C) Kosgey last traveled to the U.S. in November 2006. He
applied for and was issued U.S. visas in 1997, 1999, 2003,
2004, 2005, and 2006 (all G2 visas). His most recent
application was for a G2 visa to attend a parliamentary forum
at the UN General Assembly in New York. He was issued a G2
multiple-entry, 3-month visa on November 2, 2006 in
diplomatic passport D006890. He has not applied for a visa
since 2006. As a sitting minister and member of parliament,
he may intend to apply for a U.S. visa for either
professional or personal travel. However, we do not have any
clear indication that he intends to apply soon. He has two
sons who have made forays into politics: Allan Kosgey, who is
a co-director of the Tinderet Development Trust with his
father, and youngest son Alex Kosgey, an aspiring MP.
¶16. (C) Since almost the beginning of his long political
career, Kosgey has consistently availed himself of
opportunities to enrich himself at the expense of the Kenyan
taxpayer. His participation in official corruption led
directly to the financial collapse of one parastatal, and he
has also undermined stability and security in the Rift Valley
by instigating and planning inter-ethnic violence before,
during, and after the December 2007 elections. Post
recommends that he be excluded for travel to the U.S. under
section 212(f) of the INA and that no exception be granted.
Ranneberger