Mr. Martin Ngatia, a Kenyan politician resident in Stockholm, has attacked Mrs Purity Muhindi, the Kenyan Ambassador to Scandinavia, for “surrounding herself with weaklings” at her secret meetings with Kenyan dignitaries during their excursions in Sweden because these weaklings are incapable of challenging the Ambassador’s guests at private dinners.
Speaking to KSB in response to a recent secret reception of a group of Kenyan dignitaries at her residence, Mr. Ngatia said that Ambassador Purity should stop being primitive because Kenyans have been meeting government officials before her arrival at the Embassy about two years ago.
“The Ambassador is a beneficiary of hand-picking by Lucy Kibaki and it is high time the Kenyan government recalled her because she is an embarrassment to Kenyans in Sweden” Mr. Ngatia told KSB.
“Kenyans are not man-eaters who could swallow government officials. The repeated hiding of these officials as they spend tax payer’s money is uncalled for”, he said.
He said that it is a big scandal that despite the presence in Stockholm of both ODM and Narc-Kenya branches whose mother Parties are currently running the Kenyan government, Ambassador Purity has continued to keep politicians from both Parties away from their Stockholm branches with impunity.
“This is unacceptable and should not be allowed to continue”, he said. He said that if it is the politicians who do not want to meet Kenyans here or their Party branches, the Ambassador should say so.
Mr. Ngatia also criticized Kenya government officials who allow themselves to be kept away from Kenyans by an Ambassador who has not been elected by anybody but who is the beneficiary of tribalism and nepotism. He said that it is the responsibility of these dignitaries to demand an audience with Kenyans in Sweden instead of allowing themselves to be controlled by an assuming Ambassador.
“If these politicians cannot meet people, we will never be able to change Kenya”, he said. Mr. Ngatia wondered how some Kenyan politicians, whose freedom of Association is routinely violated by the Ambassador, could meet and talk to white Swedish state officials confidently when they cannot even meet their own people resident in Sweden after they have travelled a long way in the name of building Kenya.
AMBASSADOR’S RESIDENCE NOT A PRIVATE VILLA
“There is nobody who knows and understands how Swedish officials think and operate more than us. Kenyan Politicians on official duties in Sweden could benefit from the experience of Kenyans who live here by being exposed to them”, he said. “This cannot happen if the Ambassador herself is ignorant about this fact”, he added.
Mr. Ngatia warned that the Ambassador should also not use the excuse that the Embassy cannot afford to entertain many Kenyans with food and drinks when meeting Kenyan officials because Kenyans are capable of buying their own food and drinks even at the most expensive hotel in Stockholm.
“The Ambassador should know that Kenyans in Stockholm are not interested in consuming tax payer’s money. They are interested in productive exchanges with Kenyan officials for the benefit of our country”, he said.
The Kenyan politician said that Kenyans in Stockholm should not allow the Ambassador to convert the Embassy into a private Office and to use the residence as a private villa by allowing her to get away with secret meetings with Kenyan dignitaries because these facilities are paid for by the tax payer.
“Kenyans must speak up and tell the Ambassador that Sweden is not Kenya where village Chiefs and headmen cannot be told that they are wrong”, he said.
He said that it was unfortunate that some Kenyans in Stockholm had allowed themselves to be manipulated by the Ambassador using food and drinks. “When they are secretly invited to secret meetings, these Kenyans are expected to behave by not raising issues”, he said, adding that this was unfortunate.
“When they are told to clap by the Ambassador”, they ask “how loud” and “when they are told to jump, they ask how high?”, he added.
Mr. Ngatia said that such Kenyans should be exposed and shamed for having sold their conscience cheaply in exchange for food and drinks. He said that the struggle against Ambassador Purity Muhindi should continue until the Coalition government understands that she is a big problem in Stockholm and should therefore be recalled as soon as possible.
Okoth Osewe
About the Author
Mr. Ngatia,
Your patriotic passion for Kenya is always absolute. Your position on Ambassador Purity Muhindi resonates with what some principled Kenya-Stockholmers have mentioned several times.
Ambassador Muhindi should stop meeting Kenyan dignitaries secretly with a select group of Kenya-Stockholm bootlickers. It is the poor taxpayer’s money which keeps Purity glowing with arrogance and be able to maintain a VIP lifestyle while thinking that local Kenyans are foolish. She should humble herself, serve and not portray the mentality of former colonial chiefs.
Ambassador Muhindi is a relatively young woman whose mentality should be progressive, instead of being conservative and behaving like some chauvinist politicians in Kenya.
What legacy does she intend to leave among Kenyans in Scandinavia? Has she ever proposed anything to unite all Kenyans whom she assumes are divided? No. Has she ever come up with ideas to challenge local Kenyans to do something progressive? No. Has she ever called for a special meeting with all Kenyan women to share her knowledge in various aspects? No. Has she ever called a seminar or conference that assembles all Kenyans to share their challenges and experiences? No.
Has Purity ever invited a few Kenyans to secret parties using poor taxpayers’ money for free food and drinks? YES! YES, several times. This is her specialty.
Look at the Embassy’s blog which designer “Safimedia” ignorantly calls a website! It has no relevant updates and still bears those tired, old pictures and news of the National Accord which led to the Grand Coalition. A KSB reader tore into this weakness last week and compared the site to a few others which mirrored their Missions positively.
Ambassador Muhindi leads an embassy in a country with abundant access to communications technology, yet cannot run a blog or website to showcase Kenya and her own work in Scandinavia. I believe that she cannot post her secret Kenyan parties’ photos on the Embassy blog because the same bootlickers would be seen every time, confirming the allegations of “bought” loyalty.
Ambassador Muhindi has certain personality traits equivalent to those of Marie Antoinette, who was Queen of France during the French Revolution.
Historically, Antoinette is remembered for her arrogance and extravagance, but not for ever caring about the larger French citizenry. Purity wines and dines only with the local “Kenyan nobles” who form her circle of the socially-loyal and acceptable. To the other “Kenyan peasants” who need her attention, the answer is similar to Antoinette’s for the French peasantry: “Let them eat cake.”
Ambassador Muhindi should get out of her gilded cage and reach out to all Kenyans.
Well put Mr. Mwangi for your well thought comments. I do agree also with Mr.Ngatia that both ODM and Narc Kenya have branches here in Sweden and it could have been fair for the Ambassador to be informing them whenever government officials(politicians) are coming here.
If the old claim that Kenyans are not organised, hold no water coz ODM and Narc Kenya are legally registered organisations here in Sweden.
I challenge our women leaders here in Sweden to send a delegation to Ambassador Muhindi and tell her to change her tactics on how she deals with our society here in Sweden.
Ambassador Muhindi should heed to the cries of our people and change her methodology on how to deal and work together with our Kenyan community.
Thanks Mr.Muirani. I don’t think it’s all lost between Kenya-Stockholmers and Ambassador Muhindi. That “lost love” can be rekindled if she wipes her slate clean and gives a jump-start at efforts to renew the frosty relations. We are missing out on so many opportunities and formalities in Sweden that can be endorsed by a high-powered person like Purity, to enhance our social development.
Kenyans are quite forgiving and it is not only free drinks and food that should link them with the Embassy. The Ambassador is quite knowledgeable and can use emissaries to approach Kenyans so as to bridge the growing social gap.
May be, we are expecting too much from Ambassador Purity whom, I think, believes that she may not be able to mend fences with the Kenyan community in Stockholm.
I tend to think that she has tendered her resignation when it comes to links with Kenyans in Stockholm and this should explain why she has narrowed her focus on what Osewe calls “Walambaji” to create a semblance to dignitaries that she has contacts with Kenyans in Stockholm.
May be, it would be better for the Scandinavian branches of both ODM and Narc-Kenya to work jointly in mobilizing to influence the Coalition government to get rid of her so that Kenyans can start afresh. More effort should be aimed at the urgency of her departure because trying to reclaim her is a typical case of chasing after the wind.
I fully acknowledge Mr. Ngatia’s critical views which should hopefully change Ambassador Muhindi’s attitude towards the Kenya-Stockholm community. His grievances point at the weaknesses many Kenyans have noted before concerning the Embassy’s leadership.
I thank Mr. Muirani also for challenging Kenya-Stockholm women to rise and let our voices be heard by Mrs. Muhindi. We have a group of Kenyan women in Stockholm called Voice of Women (VOW), whose activities have been reported at KSB before. There are also quite a few informal women groups with interest in micro-financing. The Embassy can use its blog and other Kenyan blogs to spread information calling for formal meetings with women representatives to chart a common goal. Some of the diplomats and local staff with contacts among Kenyans can also initiate contact to see what these women have to offer.
Making a Difference (MAD) is another Kenyan group that brings together parents and their teenagers. The Ambassador could sometimes take her children to attend their functions in a private capacity. How I wish she could prove to be the Kenya-Stockholm “First Mom” like Mrs. Michelle Obama.
The Ambassador should stay above local blog frays and show leadership.
Ambassador Purity has two big problems. She lacks good strategic advisors while she continues to maintain an inelastic attitude to bottlenecks that require flexibility in policy especially on Public Relations.
According to the pecking order at the Embassy, Ms Jenipher Awuor should be her right hand woman probably followed by Daniel Kottut as second in command. They should be helping her with strategy but for some reason, they seem to be sleeping on the job.
Kottut should actually be in the field, interacting with ordinary Kenyans and sending intel back to the Embassy on what the community is thinking, intel which can then be used to design a working policy. There is no big deal of appearing at Kenyan parties (including house parties) because these functions remain the most fertile grounds for Kenya-Stockholm social interactions and any Ambassador who avoids this fact does so at his/her peril.
What is happening is that there is no grass roots contact with Kenyans in Stockholm that could be used to build good relations. During the days of Sergon, Mwongo used to do this and when Mwongo left, Mwandembo took over. Mwandembo handed the torch to Kiboi who died to open the way for Kinyua who did a fantastic job before initiating Kottut into the business. This is what I have been told by a contact who will remain nameless.
Unfortunately, and, for some inexplicable reason, Kottut has chosen to lock himself at the Embassy thereby creating a breakdown in communication with Kenyans at the grass roots. Figuratively speaking, Kottut is tightly sand-witched between Purity squeezing him on the front lobes and Jenipher rubbing him from the back side and this may have weakened his power of initiative especially in the middle of influence and power of the two ladies who call the shots at the Embassy.
What is happening at KSB is that Osewe seem to have understood the key strategic weakness within the Administration and what he is doing is that he is filling in the information gap with both propaganda and credible analysis using facts that appear to be coming from loyal Agents (KISS) linked to the Embassy. Kottut should be the person trying to neutralize KSB by countering any perceived propaganda and straightening things. Osewe has complained at KSB several times that top staff are afraid of taking the phone thereby creating a reporter’s best scenario of having a free hand in the situation.
The inelasticity of the Ambassador’s attitude is based on her failure to recognize “the power of the media”, probably because of her apolitical view of the situation fed by her strong attachment to book diplomacy which sometimes does not work. She believes that KSB is against her. However small it might look, KSB is the Kenya-Stockholm media and if the Embassy has not understood this point, the Mission will continue to remain helpless in the face of attacks.
To change the situation, policy at the Embassy will have to change and the question is whether Ambassador Purity is in that position of bringing this change. Ngatia and John could be right, that the solution is for the government to recall Purity because it is increasingly looking like she is a spent force. Sorry for this long contribution. Purity may be “beyond reform” and those calling for delegations to the Embassy to speak to her may be missing the point. Purity may have to go so that Lucy can give her a new job do to and a new posting made at the Embassy for Kenyans to start anew because Purity has failed.
That’s a great insight Fagilia. Going by your key argument which is similar to John’s, it seems that the relationship between the Ambassador and Kenyans is beyond salvage. Going by the “Total Recall” proposition, how can Kenya-Stockolmers go about it? Also, since Kottut received the mantle from Kinyua, he should act as required. Why is he hiding from the Kenyans? By Kenyans here I mean all; not just the clique of bootlickers.
On a softer note, can somebody mention ONE thing that Ambassador Muhindi has done at policy level, within the Kenya-Stockholm community since her deployment in 2006? I am bringing this up because the Embassy normally demonizes KSB for what is perceived as negative news on Mrs. Muhindi. I want some positive light shed on her too.
Mwangi, If we go by the thesis that the case of Ambassador Purity is beyond salvage, Kenyans in Stockholm are already doing what they need to do – making it known that there is a problem with Ambassador Purity, putting pressure on the Ambassador to act on key issues and attacking Walambaji who are selling the collective struggle to get her on the plane back to Kenya for good. One person working overtime in this direction and who should receive the ultimate prize is Mr. Osewe. He definitely has investigative skills which needs to be appreciated by any sincere observer.
Kottut is not hiding from Kenyans. He is a victim of circumstances because he is not the senior most official at the Embassy. He has two women whose power he has to reckon with and regardless of the kind of changes he would like to bring at the Embassy, these changes have to be sanctioned by the Ambassador.
The drift is that if Kottut makes a serious move to try and turn things around for the better, such a success will undermine the authority of Purity and Josphine at the Embassy because they have a profile of failure which they tend to cover up with silence through the “silence is golden” philosophy.
The Ambassador has continued to waste opportunities of fighting back allegations that she is not doing anything to create a working relationship between Kenyans and the Embassy. Why should she call a Coffee drinking session with the tiny Kenyan community in Denmark when the main challenge is in Stockholm where she is being accused of not having organized a single meeting with Kenyans.
The situation is even worse when she is spotted at other functions of the Sudanese type with doubting Thomases being treated to photo exposures to strengthen the charge that she has abandoned the Kenyan community in Stockholm?
I am not talking of her organizing functions like Madaraka, Kenyatta or Jamhuri sprees to meet Kenyans because she is under official obligation to annually call these 2 hour runs. I have not been here for long but I am told that this year’s Madaraka, which she called at her residence, was a score because it was the first time the Embassy had chipped in.
The mistake is that she sent the celebration at her residence at a time when the atmosphere had been polluted by the Cheruiyot set-back and other unresolved scandals and since no attempt had been made to clean the mess, KSB exploited the situation to point in the direction of a boycott and this is what happened.
Another point. Why does the Ambassador continue to entertain Kenyan politicians on trips here while at the same time side-lining the two Scandinavian branches of ODM and Narc-Kenya? Something must be wrong and her failure to make invitations can only be connected to her contempt for these branches.
What she does not understand is that politicians are always looking for attention and what Purity is doing is that she is providing to leaders of these parties a thread with which to tie up some kind of unity against her.
Instead of inviting inferior beings who cannot even open their mouths in the presence of a sub-chief, why not prepare the dignitaries to the antiques of fire-breathing radicals then proceed to invite these attention seekers to make noise then call it a day? If it is the dignitaries who are not interested, why not find a way of telling this to Kenyans in Stockholm through people like Kottut? One of the best ways of taming an enemy is to bring the enemy close.
Sergon and Kinyanjui had understood all these things I am talking about and, as I continue kufagilia this discussion, I am told that they did succeed so why not Purity?
Fagilia, thanks. May be, that’s enough feed for today. You can now go and take supper.
Good job Fagilia. I agree with Ochie, that you should take it easy. In adding on your analysis, there was the land issue that the Ambassador could have used to show leadership. If I were in her shoes, I could have check mated ODM-Scandinavia by simply coming out to say that the matter “is being investigated”. She should have also come out to make a statement on the Cheruiyot story by stating the position of the Embassy instead of leaving the thing at zero information.
Then, organizing a two hour “Coffee meeting” with Kenyans in Stockholm should be one of the easiest. If the Embassy can afford to transport a delegation to Denmark to try and make its presence known in a less important constituency like Denmark, how comes a tea or coffee break with Kenyans here has been impossible since 2006 when Purity took office?
Well put Fagilia. It was important to elaborate that necessary steps have been taken by local Kenyans to forge relations with Mrs. Muhindi yet she has ignored them. Using the backdrop you have given concerning continuous pressure from KSB, I now fully agree that the Ambassador is not worth serving at the Embassy in Stockholm.
If she was hand-picked by Lucy Kibaki as stated by Mr. Ngatia, then I can see why she doesn’t feel obliged to serve all Kenya-Stockholmers. She probably believes that her State House connection means arrogance and picking only bootlickers to socialize with. Clearly, Mrs. Muhindi lacks social competence among majority of Kenyans. She definitely has no excuse for not meeting Kenyans, yet hops from one non-Kenyan party to the other.
We need to know more about the Kenya Government policy concerning relations between its foreign Missions and the Kenyans they serve, because as stated earlier, Mrs. Muhindi is hiding behind “diplomatic protocol” pretending that she is not allowed to mix with Kenyans. We all know that this is a fat lie because past Ambassadors like Sergony and Kinyanjui blended very well.
Fagilia, keep KBS readers updated on this issue as pressure continues on Purity.
In a brief juxtaposition as a rejoinder to contributions by Fagilia, Mwangi and Mkulima, it needs to be emphasized (even in passing) that the malaise at the Embassy is embedded to Purity’s intractable style on the one hand and an almost sickening culture of fear among possible advisors on the other.
Any progressive staffer, (be it Kottut or Jenipher for that matter) who tries to go against the grain by trying to “clean the cobwebs” within the administration runs the risk of facing the sack which could easily be instigated from State House through the Lucy-Purity connections.
The “inelasticity of attitude” on the part of Purity which Fagilia alluded to in his brilliant analysis rests on Purity’s conquistador-like belief system that does not allow her to “bend policy” even in the interest of repairing the worn out relationship between her and the Kenyan community in Stockholm.
Purity’s inept management of the long standing crisis and her reluctance in making redress as the situation continues to degenerate is pathognomonic of a loser who understands that she is on her way out of the scene and that under the fluid circumstances, she can only cling on to power as long as it takes and as she awaits for both her eventual waterloo and subsequent return to Kenya. Coaxing her to try and tighten her belt could be equated to boxing the void and this is yet another dilemma in the situation which Caro could probably expound on to further this debate.
Stella, I took a feminine approach to this issue thinking that we could recoup what is lost between the Embassy and Kenyans. However, as the discussion advances, I notice arising complexities and internal machinations of power that hinder the likes of Kottut from engaging with Kenyans.
There are rumors that even Ms. Josephine Awuor has poor relations with the rank and file at the Embassy, thus changing the former amicable psycho-social environment experienced during Sergony’s and partly Kinyanjui’s time. If the two senior most female leaders (Purity and Josephine) have no regard for the non-diplomatic staffers, then we see why they can’t mix with Kenyans outside the Embassy.
Sometimes female leaders are worse than their male counterparts and Purity has proven this by lacking gravitas in discharging her duties among Kenyans. Instead of improving things in Stockholm, she is gradually shifting “free drinks and food” to other Nordic areas to show Nairobi that she interacts with Kenyans in the region.
If the Embassy is being run like a retail market somewhere in Kenya with Purity acting as the dictator “Mama Mboga”, then even the diplomatic staffers have no chance to act professionally. Kinyua was lucky then to change stations in order to advance his career. I can imagine Purity threatening some of her staffers with a phone call to Lucy in case they don’t toe the line. I guess the only thing remaining is for them to sing “Mama na Baba” songs to retain their positions at the expense of Kenya-Stockhomers. We must therefore continue to expose Mrs.Muhindi’s weak leadership.
“I don’t have any formula for ousting a dictator or building democracy. All I can suggest is to forget about yourself and just think of your people. It’s always the people who make things happen.” Corazon Aquino (President of the Philippines, 1986-1992).
KSB has been very quiet. I am wondering where wasomi have gone or are they still giving Kenyans in Stockholm time to digest their analysis. I was very amazed by these guys whom I was told, are all doing their Masters at Universities around Sweden. I have been hooked on KSB for the last five days reading their views and kwa kusema ukweli they did open my eyes to something about education. I hope they will continue to entertain and educate some of us. I am myself a form four drop out but I don’t feel inferior. Our country is great and I don’t think we produced Obama accidentally.
Dropout:
Just keep it up; that kind of self-confidence is what you need. En masse contributors at KSB go by provided topics and this current one is already exhausted with profound insights concerning Ambassador Muhindi. There is massive analysis when it comes to waking up some people who have decided to sleep on their intelligence which can be enhanced with the available resources in Sweden. Believe me, business will boom again at KSB whenever the scribes deem it fit.
All Kenyans are gifted with varied talents, so let us use them positively because just as you have pointed out, Obama was not accidental. We must therefore uphold high standards in the Diaspora since we represent our great Motherland.
Can the Kenyan supporters of Ambassador Muhindi tell KSB what she has done to the wider Kenyan community in Stockholm apart from baiting a few to her secret parties to binge food and drinks?
The meaning of Purity’s parties: “A period of excessive or uncontrolled indulgence in food and drinks without engaging the intellect.”
Osewe:
I am dying for a spin on Purity. Don’t you have anything fresh? No sumptuous, gluttonous meals washed with cheap Embassy drinks lately or ‘cloak-and-dagger like’ meetings with the ‘crème de la crème’ of Kenya-Stockholm? No shaking her money-maker at a Sudanese gig? Oh, there must be something. I guess she bribed Nairobi’s Foreign Affairs to stay in Stockholm.
Without the spice on Ambassador Purity Muhindi, I feel KSB is missing out on something.
KSB: We gave Purity a breathing space and time to reform as the new year approached. We are taking stock and will soon be touring the Embassy to report on any changes especially in general strategy.