Roseline Njogu: The lying PS

 

PS Diaspora Affairs Roseline Njogu when she briefed MPs on the welfare of diaspora caught up in the conflict in the Middle East. [Courtesy, X]

The Principal Secretary, State Department for Diaspora Affairs, Roseline Njogu, on Wednesday claimed that the Kenya Television Network (KTN) had put up a poster for an interview without seeking her consent.

Ms Njogu, who is a lawyer, claimed that, “I have been informed of a poster circulating on social media claiming that I will be discussing the Middle East Conflict on KTN News this evening with the ambassadors of Iran and Israel to Kenya. That is a clear misrepresentation - I will not be participating in any such panel, and @KTNNewsKE is out of order to circulate such disinformation. This is unacceptable!.”

But the Standard can boldly confirm that the PS had agreed to a phone interview during the 9pm bulletin.

According to WhatsApp conversations between the PS and the media house, Ms Njogu approved her photo to be used on the said poster.

However, a few minutes to the bulletin, the PS posted the claim on her X that KTN had not consulted her.

Her sentiments came a few minutes after the Iranian Ambassador Ali Gholampour pulled out of the interview on the grounds that he had other emergencies to attend to.

Since the war between the United States and Iran broke out on Saturday last week, Kenyans living and working in the Middle East have been sending home messages of fear and hope.

On TikTok and Facebook, many are seeking to reassure their families that they are safe, while others are expressing fears and uncertainties following the closure of the airspace of many Gulf countries.

Many Kenyans work in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. These countries are located in a region now under heightened security concerns due to retaliatory attacks by Iran.

Meanwhile, President William Ruto’s condemnation of missile strikes across the Middle East received a firm response with Iran insisting that its missile activities are acts of self-defence and not aggression

In a statement posted on his Facebook account, Ruto had said Kenya strongly condemns the strikes on the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain in what he termed as “evolving conflict in the Middle East”.

“It is evident that the regionalisation of this conflict poses a grave threat to international peace and security. At this defining and perilous moment in global history, longstanding multilateral institutions remain indispensable frameworks for the resolution of the current crisis in the Middle East,” Ruto said.