Wikileaks - Sally Kosgei vs Kenyan Leadership

Dr. Sally Kosgei

Sally Kosgei, Kenya's former High Commissioner to London and retired President Moi's last Head of Civil Service certainly did not anticipate that her conversations in 2009 with US Ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger and Asst. Secretary of State Johnnie Carson would find their way in the leakages of US diplomatic secret cables.

Dr. Kosgey, who at the given time was Minister of Higher Education, condescendingly described President Kibaki as leader who did not read intelligent briefs and having no back-bone to carry out agreed reforms. She continued to dress down her cabinet colleagues including the Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, stating he has "no office structure, no discipline in his life or schedule".

Johnnie Carson, a former US envoy to Kenya under President Moi, called Kibaki and Raila to apologise over the insipid reports, as soon as the Wikileaks saga broke. An embarrassing moment for Mr. Carson.

For Dr. Kosgey, tomorrow will be a difficult day as she is currently in New York with her Vice-President, whom she described as "a diminishing asset". They are in New York lobbying the UN to defer Kenya's cases at The Hague.

Clearly Kenya continues to have a fractured cabinet supporting poor and unstable leadership. This has stagnating effects on a potential emerging economy. Egypt is Kenya's neighbor to the north and the Kenyans are fed up.

Will the wind of change in the Sahel blow down south?

Other sources:

The Standard