The Kenyan Embassy In Stockholm is sending letters to Kenyans in the Nordic region asking for personal information. According to a letter signed by Jenipher Awuor on behalf of the Ambassador, Mrs Purity Muhindi, the Embassy is circulating the letter because it is “updating its records of Kenyan Nationals in the Nordic region”.
An attached form is then supposed to be filled in with personal information and mailed to the Embassy. The letter has not yet reached all Kenyans and when KSB called the Embassy to sniff what was going on, an official said that the letters are still in the process of being dispatched and that all Kenyans will receive them as soon as possible.
“We are working on the letters and they will come either today or tomorrow”, the official told KSB.
Even before they arrive, the move is already being questioned by Kenyans. According to Moses Trubadur, a Kenyan musician, the Kenyan Ambassador to Scandinavia Mrs Purity Muhindi has refused to call Kenyans so that she can introduce herself to members of the community and now she is asking for personal information.
“I don’t even know who is who at the Embassy”, Moses told KSB.
The Kenyan musician said that the Embassy has a history of doing nothing when Kenyans run into problems in this country and wondered why the information about the next of kin together with other personal information were being collected by the Embassy.
The information required includes date of birth and place of birth. What is interesting is that Kenyans are also required to enter both Passport numbers and Passport reference numbers. The irony is that once you submit to the Embassy your Passport number, the institution should be in a position to establish both your date and place of birth. Moses wondered what the Embassy wants to do with his birth day and birth place.
He said that many Kenyans have been dying in Sweden with the Embassy having had nothing to do with helping their next of kin to transport their remains to Kenya.
“I better give this information to Kenyans because they are the ones who take responsibility when something happens to one of us”, he said. He speculated that the Embassy could be on a “spying mission” on Wakenya because the info they are looking for is irrelevant especially after you have given your Passport number.
Last Saturday, a group of Kenyans were brutalized by Swedish guards at Slussen tube station. Do date, the Embassy has not done anything about the case. The institution has not even taken contact with the victims to try and establish what happened to Kenyan nationals or to establish the circumstances under which they were attacked.
It is this kind of “I don’t care attitude” on the part of the Embassy that continues to expose it to criticism especially from Kenyans in Sweden who view the Kenyan Embassy as “an address” in Stockholm city.
Okoth Osewe
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