Egypt wants Kenya diplomat fired over fabricated racism charge

Egypt on Saturday demanded the dismissal of a Kenyan diplomat over her 'fabricated' charge that an Egyptian official had referred to sub-Saharan Africans as 'dogs and slaves' during a conference in Nairobi.

"Intensive investigations conducted by the ministry of foreign affairs over the past few days showed accusations against the representative of Egypt ... Proved baseless and false," said ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid.

"The representative of Egypt did not utter any inappropriate or offencive words against African countries," he said, adding that "the minutes of the meeting sessions and video and audio tapes prove that the accusations ... Were fabrications."

 

The spokesman said the Egyptian embassy in Nairobi had been instructed "to request the dismissal of the Kenyan coordinator responsible for this grave mistake from their current position".

Kenyan diplomat Yvonne Khamati accused an unnamed Egyptian official of making the remarks when the UN environmental conference went beyond its schedule last weekend and ministers were unable to vote on resolutions.

Khamati, a member of Kenya's representation to the UN Environment Programme, made the allegations in a memo circulated on social media whose authenticity she confirmed.

She demanded that Egypt be banned from representing African interests 'in any negotiations' as a result of the allegations, which sparked an outcry on social media.

In response, Cairo said on Tuesday that its foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, had ordered an 'immediate investigation' into the allegations.