After she unabashedly hosted the first Mashujaa day in Copenhagen in October this year (which was poorly attended to say the least), Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary aka Lady Ambassador, Her Excellency, Mrs. Purity Wakiuri Muhindi, may at last be listening to her Constituents called Kenya-Stockholmers – kudos to Purity this time around.
Dennis Otieno, Joseph Wachira, Anna Mwihia and Marcus Ondiek, a group of Kenya University students in Stockholm, took contact with KSB to report that they lodged a complaint with Ambassador Purity to stop shifting national days outside Stockholm. Although this was a rare “moment of Hallelujah”, it mimicked the act of casting the “species of KSB fish” from a small jag of water into the gigantic Baltic Sea during a hot summer afternoon!”
In fact, the Bagarmossen Church members could have been called to total attention, raised their hands in the air and said in chorus “thank you Jezzussss” with their eyes closed and their heads focused towards the sky. They could then have proceeded to open their King James or Jerusalem bibles to praise the Lord for having opened the eyes of the University students “to see the light” about Purity and her crazy ideas of relocating Kenyan national days outside Stockholm.
This year, the Embassy has scheduled Jamhuri day spree at Scandic Sergel Plaza Hotel in Stockholm, not Denmark, Oslo or Helsinki, capitals with a scanty population of Kenyans compared to Stockholm. The “wining and dining” at tax payer’s expense will take place on Wednesday, December 8th from 17.30-19.30 so fix your calendar and sharpen your appetite for them Nyake sticks driven down with red wine, Heineken or withiki! This time, don’t boycott because we are in a Coalition government with both ODM and PNU on the eating table!
Apart from external pressure, it is understood that Deputy Ambassador H.E Arthur Amaya Andambi is also doing a good job by constantly advising the Ambassador on the best strategic options available especially when it comes to the hosting of public holidays. Intelligence from the Embassy say that Andambi has been trying to soften Purity to relax her “negative attitude” towards Kenyans in Stockholm “because of crap” written at KSB.
Kenya national days do not belong to Purity
Trouble started after the wedding in summer of Princess Victoria and the new Prince Daniel when KSB attacked Purity for having allowed herself to be relegated to the Church pavement during the wedding ceremony. Although Sam Pippo claimed that she was actually in the Church, a photo taken by a KSB Paparazzi located her at the pavement.
KSB had also questioned why the Ambassador decided to wear one of her “worst Kitenge” during the occasion when she had several and more elegant options. Since then, spies at the residence say that the Ambassador dumped the “offending Kitenge” while she also introduced Asian attire in her wardrobe in a moment of personal protest and to “break the Kitenge monotony” that was according KSB a lot of propaganda.
Since the Victoria wedding, Purity has appeared in Kenyan-Stockholm public on two occasions – when the Kenya Football Team reached the finals of the African Challenge Cup on 31st July (which is another story not yet told) and when Easther Wahome came to Stockholm on 23rd October 2010. In both occasions, she refused to don a Kitenge, having opted for an “Asian alternative” probably to try and confuse KSB apparatus. When Andambi learnt the extent to which KSB reports were changing Purity’s way of operation, he decided to intervene. Readers will remember that the Embassy no longer sends invitation cards during public events because of persistent KSB attacks on grounds that since such cards are never sent to everybody, the practice was discriminatory.
The Kenyan Embassy in Stockholm is responsible for the whole of Scandinavia and although the idea of hosting national days in different countries may sound welcome and democratic, it essentially beats logic. A Jamhuri invite to diplomats based in Stockholm has more meaning because naturally, the Embassy has better contact with diplomats in Stockholm than in other countries on the basis of joint work at different levels.
By moving away from Stockholm without proper reasons to host Kenya National days, the Embassy is isolating the very diplomats who are supposed to be collected together as an appreciation of joint work and solidarity with countries friendly to Kenya. Stockholm is the preferred headquarters of many Embassies and this makes it more convenient when it comes to hosting National days so when Purity suddenly deviates from this expectation, it is equally natural that thinking Kenyans begin to question her real motives.
There is no denying that in Scandinavia, the population of Kenyans is largest in Stockholm. National celebrations is of key interest to Kenyan citizens around the world and when you are an Ambassador and you are organizing a function of such national importance, common sense dictate that you do so while seeking a gathering point where you are likely to attract maximum crowd. As far as Kenya national days are concerned, there is nowhere in Scandinavia where one is likely to get a bigger crowd of Kenyans than in Stockholm. Consequently, when Ambassador Purity transfers these functions to other capitals, surely, our Plenipotentiary ought to be put on the carpet to establish her motivation.
Ambassador Purity must be made to account
The Embassy does not belong to Purity. Likewise, Purity did not create Kenya national days so she ought not to decide where national days are held because these are not like birthdays of family members. The only explanation why Purity may be resorting to her personal whims when it comes to moving national days away from Stockholm is because she is misusing her powers, knowing that since her appointment was motivated by First Lady Lucy Kibaki, nothing will happen to her after all. In short, we can say that she is acting with impunity, the very impunity the country is seeking to get rid of. It is therefore important that every time she runs away with our national days, she ought to expect fire.
There is this weak argument that Kenyans in other countries in Scandinavia also deserve to get national days hosted in their countries of residence. This argument could have held a lot of water. However, a few years of experiment by Ambassador Purity in Norway, Denmark and Finland have been disastrous because attendance (especially by Kenyans) has been extremely low. Diplomats from other countries based in Stockholm but without representation in other Scandinavian countries have also not been able to travel abroad to attend a Kenya national day and this tendency has reduced attendance and undermined Purity’s “external projects”. Under the circumstances, continued relocation by the Kenyan Embassy of national days to other capitals in Scandinavia is unjustified unless Purity can come up with a better explanation.
The Embassy has a web site and one rarely encounters these functions reported at the web page, a site which, nevertheless, is dead because it is only updated during national days namely; Madaraka, Mashujaa and Jamhuri principally to direct Kenyans where the two hour drinking spree will be held. We have seen the Ambassador going round Scandinavia with her “external hosting” projects but where are the reports? If detailed accounts and pictures cannot be published at the web site, is it because the attendance is normally too low and shameful to justify the funds spent on these functions or is the lack of publicity a general cover up of failure of national days celebrated outside Stockholm?
The logistics of organizing a Kenyan national day away from Stockholm is obviously larger when transport of Embassy staff, accommodation in Hotels, meals, allowances of Embassy personnel (working away from station on a public holiday), a Benz Taxi for Purity in Oslo or Helsinki (among others) are factored in. With these extra bills footed by the tax man, is it an attack on Ambassador Purity if the logic behind her relocation of national days away from Stockholm is questioned?
Public officials in Kenya are being made to account for their activities by the public and in extreme cases, Ministers have been forced to “step aside” to allow for investigations following allegations of corruption. Likewise, public officials in Stockholm (and other capitals) must also be made to account for their actions. Apart from acting according to her dreams on the question of hosting national days, Kenyans need to know why despite the expiry of her “tour of duty”, in Stockholm, Ambassador Purity Muhindi has not been recalled by her boss, President Mwai Kibaki. Purity’s continued presence at the Embassy is a violation of the rules but do I say?
Okoth Osewe
About the Author
Osewe zidi kumwambia mama Purity mpaka aelewe.Good that you remind her she doesn’t own the Embassy or Kenya’s National Days.
With the Plenipotentiary’s boss (Wetangula) chilling outside the Cabinet after the recently mentioned massive corruption at various Missions, some of us pray that Purity be held accountable for some of the alleged financial scandals mentioned by KSB during her tour of duty.
Mama Purity can eat and drink with her usual Walambaji.
Mr. Andambi has cooled down Ambassador Purity compared to her former deputy the hard-headed Awuor.
in many other embassies for example the embassy at the uk during the celebration of the new constitution people partied almost till morning at the embassy residence,what kind of party do people go for,for two hours??????if shes not cormfatable wacha aende aache wakenya tu celebrate.purity must go home,we are tired
KSB: Well said Kalili. I have nothing to add.
One wonders what criteria the gov use to recruite these diplomats! the ones in stocky are all a big joke. a bunch that potray incompetence at its very best!
Two hours of fake hospitality from an Embassy that normally has no time for many Kenyans.A friend complained how she was recently kept waiting for hours to get a visa to Kenya and is only after screaming at some of the officers that she received help.
What the meaning of Janhuri day? Is it to drink upto morning or to clebrate kenyan Jamhuri. We are going to remember the day not get drank upto morning. Those pple who put comments and abuse the ambassador will be the first pple who will be waiting for the doors to be open so that they can run for drinks which they cant even afford. Let us show other diplomats or guest that we are mature but not children.
Huyu mama ni mchapa kazi hasa acheni kumvuruga na upuuzi wenu
KSB: Mtacha, umerudi? Habari ya Norway?