Thread: US declines to name Kenyans slapped with visa bans amid speculation

US declines to name Kenyans slapped with visa bans amid speculation

By Cyrus Ombati Updated Thursday, December 10th 2015 at 12:31 GMT

US ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec Nairobi: The US government has declined to name Kenyans who have been slapped with visa bans. US embassy in Nairobi said despite recent reports in some media outlets, it has not released the names of any of the Kenyans who may be subject to the Presidential Proclamation and cannot respond to speculation about any individual.

“Under U.S. immigration law, information regarding individual visa applications and decisions is confidential and cannot be released,” read part of a statement to the media. The statement added under the Presidential Proclamation 7750 of January 12, 2004 the United States can deny visas to individuals engaged in or benefiting from corruption that has serious adverse effects on U.S. interests. “This can include current or former public officials and private citizens. This is one tool the U.S. Government has available to sanction individuals known to engage in corruption.” It added since 2004, under Presidential Proclamation 7750, the United States has denied visas to some Kenyan citizens for involvement in corruption. See also: Counties reject Sh20b capacity building funds from World Bank The Embassy said US will continue to use the full range of tools available to it, including Presidential Proclamation 7750 as appropriate, in the effort to help Kenya end this scourge. This came amid speculation on Kenyans who might have been banned over linkage to corruption.

There were reports one of the individuals was two weeks ago denied a visa to travel to a European country. US ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec on December 1 revealed that there is indeed a list of officers banned from travelling to the US. “Corruption is a scourge in Kenya and it is something that all Kenyans must fight against. We welcome President Kenyatta’s commitments and the many actions and activities he is undertaking. It is critically important that there is more progress,” he said. According to sources, a senior Jubilee official, Cabinet secretaries, principal secretaries and some top parastatal bosses facing corruption charges in court are likely to be on the list.

Several Cabinet secretaries in the Jubilee administration have been sacked over corruption allegations in their ministries. They are Mrs Charity Ngilu (Land), Mr Kazungu Kambi (Labour), Mr Michael Kamau (Transport and Infrastructure), Mr Davis Chirchir (Energy) and Mr Felix Koskei (Agriculture). Western diplomats recently warned that any public officer linked to corruption risked sanctions, including travel bans.

Apart from the US, nine other countries on November 11 also said they would impose travel restrictions on officials linked to corruption.

These were the United Kingdom, Canada, Finland, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/artic...id-speculation

Obama has banned Kenyans?

Europe, US slap visa ban on Kenyan graft suspects


From left: Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) CEO Halakhe Waqo, United States Ambassador Robert Godec, United Kingdom High Commissioner Christian Turner, Finnish Ambassador Tarja Fernandez and French Ambassador Remi Marechaux during press conference at the EACC offices at Integrity Centre on November 12, 2015. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE
By MUCHEMI WACHIRA

Posted Friday, November 13 2015 at 09:08

IN SUMMARY

• Eleven diplomats stationed in Nairobi said they would impose travel restrictions on officials linked to corruption, saying graft was undermining the country’s future.

State and public officers in Kenya who have either been questioned or adversely mentioned over corruption risk being barred from travelling to Europe and America as western diplomats moved to raise pressure in the war against graft.

Eleven diplomats stationed in Nairobi - who held a meeting with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) Thursday - said they would impose travel restrictions on officials linked to corruption, saying graft was undermining the country’s future.

“We are prepared to take further steps to support the Kenyan authorities including, when permitted by law, the return of stolen assets to the Kenyan people or to impose travel restriction on those responsible for graft,” the envoys said in a joint statement they issued after a meeting at Integrity Centre, Nairobi.

The joint statement was read to the press by the US Ambassador to Kenya, Mr Robert Godec, who led the team to the EACC offices.

The meeting between the envoys and EACC officials came just two days after the country's Devolution and Planning minister, Ms Anne Waiguru, was questioned over loss of hundreds of millions from the National Youth Service.

After the questioning, her lawyer, Mr Ahmednasir Abdullahi, said the CS would at best be a witness in the case but EACC officials said investigations were still on.

Apart from the US, other countries represented in the meeting are the United Kingdom, Canada, Finland, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

Under the Grand Coalition administration, the western envoys imposed restrictions on top Kenya officials implicated in corruption by denying them visas.

Several Cabinet secretaries in the Jubilee administration have been asked to step aside to pave way for investigations into corruption allegations in their ministries.

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