By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
UN GATE, Oct 4 – With Kenya taking over presidency of the UN Security Council on October 1, on September 29 Inner City Press wrote to the Kenyan Mission to the UN to request access to its October 1 press conference by Ambassador Martin Kimani.
Inner City Press wrote to the Mission and to its listed spokesman, James Ndirangu Waweru.
Five day later, nothing - inconsistent, to say the least, with Kenya's duty as President of the UN Security Council. No answer either to this, yet:
"Despite your Mission's failure to answer in any way Inner City Press' formal request in late September, here for your comment on deadline is a question we have also emailed to UN spokespeople: "On corruption and Kenya (and more), what are the comments and actions of SG Guterres on that the Kenyattas' offshore investments include a company with stocks and bonds worth $30m (£22m), a foundation where his mother and the president are listed as beneficiaries, and an offshore company that could not be traced back to the Kenyatta family, which was used to buy an apartment in central London now valued at $1.3m (£1m)" Please explain why you did not respond, and confirm receipt, and arrange for access to your stakeouts this month as UNSC president."
No answer yet. So here's more: Kenyatta is linked to a Panama foundation, while his mother and siblings set up at least six other offshore businesses and foundations to manage their assets. Most of the family's companies were created before Kenyatta was elected president, and leaked documents show that some remained active after he took office. Those businesses, which are registered in Panama and the British Virgin Islands, hold bank accounts and real estate worth more than $30 million. Those assets are located in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.
Some of those at the Kenya Mission to the UN which refuses to answer: Amb. Martin Kimani, Njambi Kinyungu, Michael Kiboino, Susan Mwangi, Joseph Musyoka Masila, John Kyovi Mutua - there are more, watch this site.
At the delayed October 1 Press-less briefing, after a pitch by Raychelle Omamo, the Ambassador took only six questions, all nearly identical but still in clumps of three to allow evasions. Inner City Press live tweeted it here:
There is no commitment by the UN Secretariat to even respond to a polite law firm letter seeking access to Inner City Press, see video. See also Press Freedom Tracker and The Independent (UK)
The Kenyan Mission and Kenya have a duty to not collude in censorship, and to take questions from media. Inner City Press is permitted (in fact, invited) to put WebEx questions to the IMF briefings, see below, and is accredited at the SDNY Federal court here in New York.
So it remains up to Kenya and the Kenyan Mission to provide access. We will be covering them closely.
For now: "Here is the UN Security Council program of "work" for October under @KenyaMissionUN @AmbMKimani : #WesternSahara 13th, 4th #Haiti (cholera), 18th CAR (UN rapes) - no #Cameroon or #Nigeria, Inner City Press asked why, no answer."
Watch this site.
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