Kenyans in Afghanistan who had hoped that the government would go for their rescue are a dejected lot after the foreign PS made it clear that they will only be evacuated by their respective employers.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Macharia Kamau while responding to queries on the safety of Kenyans in Afghanistan stated that there was no citizen on an official duty in the troubled country.
“Kenya has neither diplomatic presence nor accreditation to Afghanistan,” said Amb Kamau, revealing that the primary duty for the safety of Kenyans lie with their deploying organisations.
At the same time, he noted that they had a record of Kenyans who were in Afghanistan as international agencies’ employees that were already being evacuated by their bosses.
He also added that some were in the foreign country as private contractors or legal experts for agencies like the International Development Law Organisation (IDLO).
“We did a letter to IDLO country office and their headquarters in Rome. We are following up to find out if there are known Kenyans stranded there through the High Commission in Pakistan.”
In the meantime, Kenya has no embassy in Afghanistan and is said to be relying on third parties to get information on the status of its citizens.
The Taliban recently took control of Afghanistan after it overran the National army just three weeks after the United States withdrew its military deployment.
On his side, the United States president Joe Biden said that he does not regret his decision that saw a stop of the military deployment in Afghanistan.
“I stand squarely behind my decision. After 20 years I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces. That’s why we’re still there.” Biden said in a televised speech at the White House.
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