Nominated envoys taken to task over questionable past
National Assembly Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Chairperson Nelson Koech during the vetting of nominees for diplomatic missions at County Hall in Nairobi on October 26.
President William Ruto’s envoy nominees to Italy and Germany found themselves in trouble with the vetting panel over their questionable past while working abroad in foreign missions.
Mr Fred Matwanga, who has been nominated to serve as ambassador in Italy, and Ms Stella Orina (Germany) were taken to task during their vetting before the National Assembly Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee.
A child disciplinary case that occurred in 2006 while in the US came back to haunt Mr Matwanga, who was at pains to explain to the lawmakers how he exploited his diplomatic immunity to evade authorities after allegedly beating his nine-year-old son.
The matter was raised by Kinangop MP Kwenya Thuku, who sought to know whether he used his diplomatic immunity during the incident to evade punishment by US authorities.
“You seem to be a disciplinarian. There is this case where you are accused of beating your son using a piece of wood and chasing him with a knife and he was only rescued by neighbours. Maybe you can shed more light on this,” Mr Thuku said.
“Now that you are being vetted for this position, if confirmed, are you likely to use diplomatic immunity against such incidents?” Mr Thuku asked
The Kinangop MP explained that he was raising the issue, which he admitted to have read in the media, to enable the committee to deliberate on it while retreating to write its report.
According to reports, Mr Matwanga was taken into custody at his home in Queens for allegedly beating his 9-year-old son but released because of his diplomatic immunity.
The incident happened when Mr Matwanga was serving as the second secretary of the Kenyan mission to the United Nations. Mr Matwanga allegedly hit his son on the head with a wooden stick and then chased him around the house with a knife.
Neighbours called the police when they heard Mr Matwanga's son shouting for help outside their home, and officers found the wooden stick and the knife allegedly used by the diplomat. Responding to the accusations, Mr Matwanga told the committee that is chaired by Belgut MP Nelson Koech that the matter was misreported by the media.
“This is a case that was taken out of context,” Mr Matwanga said. “Yes police were involved, they took away the children but after hearing my side of the story, the issue was resolved and the children were later returned to me,” he said. Mr Matwanga who is worth Sh48 million, denied abusing his diplomatic immunity during the incident. He told the lawmakers that, as a parent, he is tasked with the duty of disciplining his children
“As a parent, there has to be a level of discipline you have to enforce,” Mr Matwanga told the MPs.
He was supported by Central Imenti MP Moses Kirima, who said that even the Bible allows enforcing discipline.
“On this issue of child discipline, I think it is okay because even the Bible says spare the rod and spoil the child,” Mr Kirima said.
For Ms Orina, claims that she had a run-in with Austrian authorities on accusations of breaching labour laws also came to the fore during the vetting. In addition, Ms Orina was accused of failing to pay a woman whom she had engaged as her domestic worker for 14 months while serving in New York between June 2006 and April 2007.
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“While in Austria, you had a run in with Austrian authority for breaching labour laws. Police tried to intervene but you were not cooperative until the government had to use the diplomatic channel,” said Baringo Central MP Joshua Kandiye.
“There is a likelihood that Austria, being a member of the European Union, might not accept your nomination,” Mr Kandiye added.
Ms Orina, however, defended herself, saying, she has never been declared persona non grata in Austria. She further pointed out that she has even visited the country twice to see her two children who stay there.
On the alleged failure to pay a worker, Ms Orina said the woman only worked for her for three months and deserted duties and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave her another one.
“The [woman] made unsubstantiated claims, which were investigated and dismissed,” Ms Orina said.
She explained to the committee that, upon leaving her, the woman had problems with US authorities and was facing deportation only for her to invoke her name as a diplomat in order to avoid being deported.
“Workers resort to fabrication of stories in order to continue staying abroad. She used me as a scapegoat in order to avoid deportation,” Ms Orina told MPs.
