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Where the Hell is Moses Kuria?

It seems Moses Kuria, the man of many portfolios, embarked on a whirlwind adventure through the halls of government, only to find himself in a comedic conundrum. Starting off strong as the Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade, and Industry, he was the talk of the town. But alas, fate had other plans. In a twist fit for a sitcom, Kuria found himself shuffled over to the Public Service portfolio faster than you can say "bureaucratic shuffle". Then, the plot thickened! In a classic case of diplomatic drama, the US Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, decided to give Kuria a cold shoulder after cancelling not one, but two meetings with him. The reason? His "foul mouth". Oh, the irony! It seems even the most seasoned politicians can't escape the wrath of a sharp tongue. Since then, Kuria has seemingly vanished into thin air, keeping a low profile that would make even Bigfoot jealous. Rumour has it he's taken up residence in a cozy cave somewhere, pondering th
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Leaked UN Memo "Accepts Kibaki's Election" and deepens Kenya crisis

A leaked January 1 briefing note from Colin Bruce, the World Bank’s country director in Kenya, lays out the case for accepting Mwai Kibaki’s victory in the recent presidential election on the basis of “oral briefings and documents from senior [United Nations Development Programme] officials” who “monitored the overall electoral process,” The Financial Times reported on January 9.

The memo claims “the considered view of the UN is that the Electoral Commission of Kenya announcement of a Kibaki win is correct.” Michele Montas, a spokeswoman for the UN secretary-general, denied that the UN had adopted that position. UNDP officials said they neither monitored the elections nor provided any assessment suggesting a Kibaki victory. The memo claims that “the considered view of the UN is that the Electoral Commission of Kenya announcement of a Kibaki win is correct”.

Given the widespread irregularities reported in last month’s elections, the leaked briefing note is likely to trigger accusations that the institution, which lends heavily to Kenya, has lost its political objectivity. It is obvious that the World Bank's assessment of Kenya, and in particular the Kibaki Administration, may now be compromised by too close a relationship between Kibaki and Bruce. It is common knowledge that Bruce rents a house owned by Kibaki, bringing to the fore the issue of conflict of interest. European Union election observers, whom Mr Bruce criticised, on Wednesday stood by their conclusion that the election was impossible to call.

The World Bank has been criticised for maintaining its large development programme in Kenya in spite of evidence of high-level corruption in Kibaki’s government. The bank says its projects are vital for the country’s poor. Mr Bruce told the Financial Times the bank had no position on the result of the elections and he “was simply reporting the information that was available to me to headquarters”. Marwan Muasher, head of external relations at the bank, said: “The bank does not take political positions. Neither Colin Bruce nor the bank has a position on Kibaki or [opposition leader Raila] Odinga.”

Separately, Kenya’s opposition ODM on Wednesday called for the withdrawal of Mr Bruce.
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