U.S. Issues Travel Ban on Four Kenya Government Officials

East Africa  |  11.16.10   By PoliticsAfrica Staff

Four senior Kenyan government officials and a businessman have been permanently banned from travelling to the United States over allegations of trafficking narcotics, the United States ambassador to Kenya has announced.

Ambassador Michael Ranneberger, who did not name the officials or businessman, said the United States would help east Africa’s biggest economy in its fight against drugs.

Kenya’s geographic position made it an ideal destination and transit point for both heroin and cocaine, he said.

“Today I am announcing that, based on reliable and corroborative reports, we have taken steps to ensure that four senior government officials and one prominent businessman will be permanently prevented from entering the U.S. for business or tourism,” Ranneberger said in a speech in Mombassa on the Kenyan coast, where drug abuse is a chronic problem.

“They attempt to bolster their public image by funding local causes, but these public relations efforts belie their very base nature,” he said of local drug barons.

“It’s like putting lipstick on an infectious rat.”

Ranneberger said the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration would be setting up operations in Kenya in coming months to help local authorities counter international trafficking.

The United States has previously banned Kenyan officials from travelling to the United States, mostly due to their alleged involvement in corruption.

Last year, it slapped a travel ban on Attorney General Amos Wako for obstructing the fight against corruption in Kenya, sparking a bitter diplomatic row with Kenya.

Wako has denied any wrongdoing and threatened to take legal action against the United States for defamation.

The United States has also imposed a permanent ban on Joshua Kulei, an aide to former president Daniel Arap Moi, preventing him from entering the United States due to corruption allegations

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