THE government yesterday denied that it had declined to accept credentials of UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon’s son-in-law Siddharth Chatterjee.
Chatterjee has been posted to head the United Nations Population Fund.
He is married to Ban Hyun Hee.
A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Kenya has not declined or delayed to accept Chatterjee’s credentials.
“The ministry has been drawn to a story appearing in the Star on Tuesday titled ‘Kenya now freezes out Ban Ki-moon son-in-law’. The article alleges that Kenya has refused to accredit Chatterjee,” says the the statement sent by the head of Public Affairs and Communication Edwin Limo.
He said the letter informing the government of Chatterjee’s posting was received on November 6 and was immediately channeled through the normal process.
“This process takes between four to six weeks and hence there is no delay,” Limo says.
He says there is no relationship between the posting and the Kenya@50 celebrations.
Meanwhile, ambassador Martin Kimani, Kenya’s Mission to the UN office in Gigiri, Nairobi, has said his office does not receive information on the employment of officers to UN bodies unless it is of executive directors.
“Your story seems to be referring to a different organisation that may have offices here but whose oversight is in another part of the world. Meaning we have no formal role to play with them,” he said in reference to UNFPA.
In our story, Chatterjee is to replace Victor Sanhouidi, who is currently acting as UNFPA country representative in Kenya.
– the-star.co.ke
