15 Kenyan officials may be refused US visas over reforms
September 29 2009 by Mark Johnstone
US ambassador Michael Ranneberger
US immigration officials have written to figures in the Kenyan government, and other high profile officials, threatening to withdraw US visas for 15 top-ranking individuals.
The possibl US visa ban comes along with a warning that Kenya’s borrowing from international financial institutions will also be ‘closely scrutinised’.
These sanctions are intended to increase pressure on key Kenyan officials to back reforms and end violence in the country.
The letters were sent to 15 people, including Kenya’s Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, civil service boss Francis Mathura and various cabinet ministers. The letters made it clear that future relationships with the US were dependent on their support for reforms, adding that they also need to renounce violence.
The US is also demanding the removal of Attorney General Amos Wako and Chief Justice Evan Gicheru.
The letters threaten to block 15 officials and their families from moving to the US by invalidating their US visas.
According to US ambassador Michael Ranneberger, those who received letters are not criminals but people who can influence change. He added that since receiving the letters, many of those facing possible sanctions have approached him to find how best to support the reforms.
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