U.S. REACTS TO THREATENING LETTERS TO MEMBERS OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001299

SIPDIS

AF/E FOR SUSAN DRIANO, LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM KE
SUBJECT: U.S. REACTS TO THREATENING LETTERS TO MEMBERS OF
PARLIAMENT

Classified By: Ambassador Michael E. Ranneberger for reasons 1.4
(B and D)

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (SBU) A Member of Parliament (MP) on June 18 claimed in
Parliament that he had received a letter implicating the
First Lady of KENYA and high GOK officials in a plot to
kill him and seven others, including one former and three
current MPs. The presidential press service and the police
spokesman attacked the claim as propaganda and dismissed
the letter out of hand. We obtained a copy of the letter
on June 19. It is unclear whether the letter is credible,
but the level of detail it contained prevents us from
summarily dismissing it given the continuing threats to
human rights defenders and the publication of the U.N.
Special Rapporteur's report that criticized police
involvement in extrajudicial killings. The Ambassador
released on June 19 a press statement calling for a
credible investigation of the letter (see para. 5). The
press statement received wide play in the media that
evening and in the following days. The Minister of
Internal Security and Provincial Administration on June 19
announced that police had initiated an investigation into
the letter and were evaluating the threat. We do not rule
out the possibility that the letter could be a hoax. We
will continue to follow the issue and to engage with the
affected MPs. End Summary.

MPs Receive Threatening Letter
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2. (C) On June 18, Member of Parliament (MP) Gitobu
Imanyara introduced a letter on the floor of Parliament,
claiming that it implicated the First Lady of Kenya, Police
Commissioner Hussein Ali, Head of the Civil Service Francis
Muthaura, Minister of Environment John Michuki, and Trade
Minister Amos Kimunya in compiling a list of eight persons
to be liquidated. The letter was addressed to MP Martha
Karua. The letter stated that current MPs Imanyara, Boni
Khalwale, and Ferdinand Waititu and former MP Paul Muite
were on the list. Imanyara stated that he had received a
copy of the letter in his pigeonhole in Parliament. In
raising the letter on the floor of Parliament, Imanyara
requested a ruling from Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim, who
was presiding over the session, on the letter. Maalim
promised a ruling on June 24.


3. (U) That evening presidential spokesman Isayia Kabira
issued a statement accusing Imanyara of being the author of
the letter and accused Imanyara of grandstanding and being
"reckless." The police spokesman also called the
allegations cheap political propaganda.


4. (C) On June, 19 MP Boni Khalwale provided us with a
copy of the letter, which was handwritten on letterhead
from the Office of the President. The letter is signed by
a Wilfred Njenga, who claims to be written by a member of
the Kwekwe squad which was formed to kill suspected Mungiki
members (Reftel D). Its stated intent is to provide a
warning to Martha Karua that she and the others are
targeted. However, the letter contains specific
allegations of police involvement in extrajudicial killings
that corroborate information given by a police informant
for the Kenyan National Commission for Human Rights.
(Note: The informant went into hiding and was murdered in
October 2008. No one has ever been arrested in the
killing. End Note.) Khalwale noted that he, Muite,
Imanyara, Karua, and Waititu had all publicly criticized
police involvement in extrajudicial killings and speculated
that this might be a motive for the threats. He told us
that he was unsure of the provenance of the letter, but
that he took the threat seriously.

Embassy Press Statement
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5. (SBU) Despite the letter's unknown origin, the level of
detail it contained prevented us from summarily dismissing
it, especially given the continuing threats to human rights
defenders (Reftel A and B) and the publication of the U.N.
Special Rapporteur's report that criticized police
involvement in extrajudicial killings (Reftel C). In the
face of the government's summary dismissal of the letter
and its contents, and in order to spur a credible
determination of the threat posed by the letter, the

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Ambassador on June 19 issued the following press statement:

Begin text

The United States Government is deeply concerned about
death threats which have been made against the Honorable
Martha Karua, the Honorable Boni Khalwale, the Honorable
Gitobu Imanyara, and the Honorable Ferdinand Waititu.
These threats must be taken seriously by the Kenyan
government. They should be fully and credibly investigated
and, if found credible, those involved should be held
accountable. It is not acceptable to dismiss these threats
out of hand.

These latest threats come at a time of considerable
intimidation and threats against civil society and human
rights activists. The threats occur at a time when the UN
Special Rapporteur has called attention to the reality of
extrajudicial killings in Kenya, and at a time when the
international community has urged action to stop
extrajudicial killings.

The Kenyan government should act responsibly and transparently.
The U.S. Government is closely following this situation, and
expects credible action to be taken.

End Text.

GOK Follow-up
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6. (U) The press statement received wide play on the
evening news on June 19 and in the newspapers on June 20.
Minister of Internal and Provincial Administration Security
George Saitoti held a press conference whereby he claimed
that the letter had been investigated. Saitoti stated that
the letterhead was a fake and that there is no Wilfred
Njenga in the police force. He further claimed that
handwriting analysis had concluded that the author of the
letter had also written a series of other fraudulent letters
claiming to be a government official. Saitoti told the press
that he had instructed the Police Commissioner to investigate
the matter to identify and arrest the perpetrator.

Comment
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7. (SBU) The provenance of, and motives for writing, the
letter is still unclear. However, the government's
knee-jerk dismissal of the letter without a proper
evaluation of the whether it represented a credible threat
was unacceptable. We will continue to raise the issue of
the GOK's ongoing responsibility to protect human rights
defenders and those speaking out against extrajudicial
killings with our government contacts. End Comment.
RANNEBERGER