US information officer flees Kenya after killing
U.S. Embassy officials in Nairobi rushed the American and his family out of Kenya the next day, leaving the crash victims with no financial assistance to pay for a funeral and for hospital bills for the eight or so others who were seriously injured.
Latifah Naiman Mariki, 38 and whose husband was killed in the crash, was almost evicted from her house this week after her landlord demanded rent. Mariki's deceased husband, Haji Lukindo, was the family's only source of income. Mariki told The Associated Press that neither the American driver nor anyone at the U.S. Embassy has contacted her, and she doesn't know how she will provide for her soon-to-be-born child and three children, ages 20, 10 and 7.
Hilary Renner, a State Department spokeswoman in Washington, said the embassy extends its deepest condolences Mariki's family and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured. She said she couldn't comment on whether embassy employee would return to Kenya.
The American driver of the SUV, Joshua Walde, was an information management officer at the Nairobi embassy when he got in the crash on his way home the evening of July 11. He gave a statement to police but because he has diplomatic immunity he was not detained. Walde is an 11-year employee of the State Department who has worked in Kazakhstan, Uruguay and Croatia. Shortly after the crash, Walde updated his work history on the networking site LinkedIn to put his time in Nairobi in the past tense, from July 2012 to July 2013. After the Facebook group noticed the updated resume and pointed to that as evidence that Walde would not return to face charges or help victims, the LinkedIn account was deleted, though a cached version is still available through Google.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/02/diplomat-kenya-car-crash/2612229/
You all do know what an 'information officer ' is don't you?
Meanwhile another US embassy staff member:
AMERICAN ARRESTED ON JULY 1ST FOR SMUGGLING IVORY AT NAIROBI'S INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CONVICTED
An American national that was arrested on July 1st while trying to smuggle ivory out of Kenya has been convicted and given the maximum fine of KSh 30,000 (approximately US$340.00).
According to The London Times newspaper, David McNevin was until recently a Colonel in the US armed forces, and a senior defence official at the US Embassy in Kenya.
http://africanjournalist.com/news-opinion/american-arrested-july-1st-smuggling-ivory-nairobis-international-airport-convicted
= new reply since forum marked as read
