United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

1 December 2010

African Reaction to the Wikileaks Release

U.S. Sought Personal Details of Great Lakes, Sahel Leaders (AllAfrica.com)

(Pan Africa) A secret diplomatic cable sent to American diplomatic missions in the
name of Secretary of State Hilary Clinton last April sought personal details – including
fingerprints, DNA and iris scans – of leaders in the Great Lakes region, including
political, military, business and religious figures.

Wikileaks: US allies unruffled by embassy cable leaks (BBC)

(South Africa) Nothing that's emerged so far on Wikileaks has caused much surprise in
South Africa. In fact one newspaper suggested that South Africa may be one of the
countries least embarrassed by the leak of the diplomatic cables.

Mandela not spared by US criticism, wikileaks cables to show (Times Live)

(South Africa) Former South African president Nelson Mandela was not spared in the
swathe of revelations emerging from thousands of leaked US diplomatic cables.

Diplomats in a frenzy over 'crazy old' Mugabe (Times Live)

(South Africa) US diplomats yesterday scrambled for appointments with senior South
African government officials to protect relations between the two countries following
the leaking of potentially damaging top-secret American communications on Sunday
night.

WikiLeaks document reveals US view of Zimbabwe (The Zimbabwean)

(Zimbabwe) An analysis of the Zimbabwean situation, entitled The end is nigh and
written by Christopher Dell as he was leaving his post in July 2007, is among the
250,000-plus confidential and secret documents gradually being released by Wikileaks.

U.S. Scorns 'Inept' MDC Leadership (The Herald)

(Zimbabwe) The United States failed to effect regime change in Zimbabwe because it
was working with a weak MDC party with an inept leadership, leaked classified
documents have revealed.

Mbeki Bias for Mugabe Highlighted in Leaked Diplomatic Reports (SW Radio Africa -
London)
(Zimbabwe) The United States former ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell,
highlighted what he felt was former South African President Thabo Mbeki's bias for
Mugabe and ZANU PF during his mediation efforts in 2008.
Wikileaks: Ncube accuses US of plot to kill him (New Zimbabwe)
(Zimbabwe) Industry and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube has accused the
United States of a plot to assassinate him after a leaked cable from its former
ambassador to Zimbabwe recommended that he be “pushed off stage”.

Wikileaks Reveals U.S. Role in June 12 Crisis (Leadership - Abuja)

(Nigeria) Wikileaks, an international non-profit media organisation, has revealed the
United States of America's role in the June 12, 1993, election that was annulled by the
military.

U.S. Diplomats Talking of Yar'Adua's Death in June 2009 (Daily Trust)

(Nigeria) Commonwealth officials were in June 2009 anticipating that a "constitutional
crisis" would befall Nigeria because of President Umaru Yar'adua's "sudden death",
according to secret US diplomatic cables posted by whistle blower Wikileaks yesterday.

Leaked Reports Show U.S. Spied on Nationals (The Monitor)

(Uganda) The United States government asked its diplomats to spy on their colleagues
at the United Nations, including envoys from Uganda, confidential memos leaked on
the internet yesterday show.

Ahoy Washington, Need Advice: Blackwater Plans Pirate Hunt (New York Times)
(Somalia/Djibouti) In late 2008, Blackwater Worldwide, already under fire because of
accusations of abuses by its security guards in Iraq and Afghanistan, reconfigured a
183-foot oceanographic research vessel into a pirate-hunting ship for hire and then
began looking for business from shipping companies seeking protection from Somali
pirates.

Djibouti cleared Blackwater to kill pirates (afrol News)

(Djibouti) The government of Djibouti permitted the controversial private US security
firm Blackwater "to operate an armed ship from the port of Djibouti" and to "use lethal
force against pirates."

WikiLeaks reveals unflattering view of Kenya. Can US retain its influence? (Christian
Science Monitor)
(Kenya) Leaked reports from the US embassy in Nairobi depict Kenya as “a swamp of
flourishing corruption.”

U.S. to Govt - Sorry for What is Coming (Daily Nation)

(Kenya) The US government has apologised to Kenya over comments by some
American diplomats on the country's leadership. US assistant secretary of State for
African Affairs Johnny Carson, who served as ambassador to Nairobi during part of the
period covered by the leaked cables, telephoned Prime Minister Raila Odinga on
Monday.

Kenya calls US 'swamp of graft' cable 'malicious' (Associated Press)

(Kenya) Kenya's government spokesman said Tuesday that a U.S. characterization of
the country as a "swamp" of corruption in reports of leaked diplomatic memos is
"malicious" if true.

Govt Hits Back At U.S. Graft Claims (Daily Nation)

(Kenya) Kenya has reacted angrily at leaked reports from US describing it as corrupt
and accused unnamed foreign powers of spending Sh1.6 billion to destabilise the
government.

Spokesman Alleges U.S. Plot 'To Topple Coalition' (Daily Nation)

(Kenya) Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua on Tuesday fell short of directly
accusing the US Government of funding a campaign to cause unrest in the country.

Americans Want to Overthrow Government (Nairobi Star)

(Kenya) Kenya yesterday implied there was an attempt by the United States to
overthrow the government.

Stop Political Tours, Raila Tells U.S. Envoy (Daily Nation)

(Kenya) Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Wednesday asked US ambassador Michael
Ranneberger to stop his political activities among the youth.
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FULL ARTICLE TEXT

U.S. Sought Personal Details of Great Lakes, Sahel Leaders (AllAfrica.com)

Cape Town — A secret diplomatic cable sent to American diplomatic missions in the
name of Secretary of State Hilary Clinton last April sought personal details – including
fingerprints, DNA and iris scans – of leaders in the Great Lakes region, including
political, military, business and religious figures.

The cable, sent from Washington to missions in Bujumbura, Kampala, Kigali and
Kinshasa, was among 220 released by the WikiLeaks website on Sunday. WikiLeaks
says it plans to release more than 250,000 State Department communications in the
coming months, of which more than 15,000 are classified as secret.

The cable to Great Lakes region missions outlined what it called "reporting and
collection needs" for the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Rwanda. It was
dated April 16, 2009.

Apart from seeking biometric details for "key and emerging political, military,
intelligence, opposition, ethnic, religious, and business leaders", the cable – and a
separate directive sent to missions in the Sahel region – directed diplomats to collect
local leaders' telephone, cell phone, pager and fax numbers, internet and intranet
"handles", internet e-mail addresses, web site identification URLs, credit card account
numbers, frequent flyer account numbers and work schedules.

Journalists who have examined all the documents published on Sunday report that
biometric data were also sought by Washington for key United Nations officials.

The Australian newspaper, owned by media magnate Rupert Murdoch, characterized

the State Department directives as "a secret order signed by Hilary Clinton" which
"directed American diplomats to act as spies around the world against friends and
enemies alike." In London, The Guardian suggested that the directive "appears to blur
the line between diplomacy and spying."

The directive covering the Sahel is also dated April 16, 2009, and specified eight
countries: Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, The Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and
Senegal.

It said a separate document – which it named as "the West Africa Littoral directive"
covered the coastal countries of West Africa: Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone,
Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin. This directive does not yet appear to
have been published by WikiLeaks.
------------------
Wikileaks: US allies unruffled by embassy cable leaks (BBC)

Among the 250,000 confidential cables obtained by the website Wikileaks are frank
comments by American diplomats on a number of allies.

BBC correspondents around the world look at the documents and the impact they
might have in some of those countries.

Jonah Fisher, Johannesburg, South Africa:

Nothing that's emerged so far on Wikileaks has caused much surprise here. In fact one
newspaper suggested that South Africa may be one of the countries least embarrassed
by the leak of the diplomatic cables.

But anything that mentions the country's icon and first president Nelson Mandela still
attracts huge interest.

So messages relating to his release from prison have been reported, as has his apparent
fury with ANC colleagues when they stopped him meeting British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher shortly afterwards.

It's hard to imagine relations between the US and Zimbabwe's president getting any
worse.
But Robert Mugabe may quite enjoy the ambassador's description of him as a devil. The
cable also said that Mr Mugabe was more clever and ruthless than any other
Zimbabwean politician.

One of those, Morgan Tsvangirai - a supposed ally of the US - may not be so pleased by
his American report card. The cable called Zimbabwe's prime minister flawed,
indecisive and lacking executive experience.
------------------
Mandela not spared by US criticism, wikileaks cables to show (Times Live)

Cables that had yet to be released would reveal the depth of Mandela's opposition to
the war in Iraq, local media reported.

Mandela considered then US president George W Bush was incapable of thinking

correctly and believed that Bush ignored calls by the United Nations for restraint in Iraq
because the UN's then secretary general, Kofi Annan, was black, the cables are expected
to show.

Other cables still to be released, meanwhile, would also show South Africa's first black
president, as being on the receiving end of criticism.

The US embassy in Pretoria admitted it had approached the South African government
to warn it in advance about the messages, which reportedly including embarrassing
criticism by the US of the anti- apartheid icon, South Africa's Independent Newspapers
reported.

The first batch of leaked cables showed how Mandela was shot down by his African
National Congress (ANC) party when he expressed a desire to meet ex-British prime
minister Margaret Thatcher shortly after his release from prison in 1990.

Mandela had wanted to explain why the ANC had opposed Thatcher's policy of
"constructive engagement" with the racist apartheid regime but the leftist ANC opposed
the meeting, leaving Mandela "furious."

The cables also contained embarrassing revelations about how both South Africa and
the US view Zimbabwe's leaders.

"The crazy old man," is how South Africa's International Relations Minister Maite
Nkoane Mashabane is said to refer to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe - a remark
that was likely to cause a stir in Harare given that South Africa is overseeing the
implementation of Zimbabwe's power-sharing agreement.

The cables also expose Washington's doubts about the leadership of Zimbabwean Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
While the man who has led democratic opposition to Mugabe for the past decade was
"the indispensable element for opposition success" he risked becoming "possibly an
albatross around their necks once in power," the then US ambassador to Zimbabwe
wrote in 2007.
------------------
Diplomats in a frenzy over 'crazy old' Mugabe (Times Live)

US diplomats yesterday scrambled for appointments with senior South African

government officials to protect relations between the two countries following the
leaking of potentially damaging top-secret American communications on Sunday night.

Officials from US Ambassador Donald Gips's office consulted their counterparts in the
Department of International Relations and Co-operation after whistleblower website
WikiLeaks leaked the first batch of about 250000 US diplomatic cables it has been given
access to.

International Relations and Co-operation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane is likely to

fly to the US this week to for discussions with American security officials, her
spokesman said.

The cables, which include unflattering remarks about many world leaders, including
British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, include embarrassing revelations about how South
Africa and the US view Zimbabwe's leaders.

Nkoana-Mashabane will also have to deal with claims in the leaked cables that she
refers to President Robert Mugabe as ''the crazy old man''. Her reported remarks are
likely to harden attitudes in Zimbabwe and complicate efforts by President Jacob
Zuma's mediators to lessen tensions between Mugabe's Zanu-PF and its coalition
government partner, the Movement for Democratic Change.

Political analyst Steven Friedman said the leaks will cause "some irritation" and that
Mugabe might be hard to deal with, but diplomatic relations between South Africa and
Zimbabwe would not be affected.

''Mugabe will not take kindly to some of the comments made about him but that does
not mean that diplomatic relations will be altered.''

Some of the other potentially damaging leaks pertaining to South Africa include the
revelations that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last year ordered US diplomats to
gather intelligence on South Africa's ambassador to the UN, Baso Sangqu, and that
former president Nelson Mandela was infuriated that he was prohibited by the ANC
from meeting former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher after his release from
prison in 1990.

Mandela, according to the leaked reports, intended to criticise Thatcher's constructive

engagement policy with the apartheid government to her face. He was reportedly
''furious'' when the ANC's leadership vetoed the meeting.

The leaked reports include references to Mandela and his criticism of US president
George W Bush for ignoring calls by the UN for restraint in Iraq, which he attributed to
UN secretary general Kofi Annan being black.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation's spokesman, Sello Hatang, said yesterday there was
nothing new about Mandela's comments on the US-led Iraqi invasion.

He refused, however, to comment on reports that Mandela was banned by his party
from talking to Thatcher.

This information was allegedly given to US intelligence agents by Gabu Tugwana, then
deputy editor of the New Nation newspaper, which was edited by Zwelakhe Sisulu - a
member of the ANC's national executive committee and the man who compiled
Mandela's appointments diary.

Tugwana, director of communications for the Johannesburg metro, yesterday dismissed

the reports as "nonsense" and called them ''libellous''.

A spokesman for the US embassy in South Africa, Elizabeth Trudeau, yesterday

confirmed that US diplomats had been speaking to South African government officials
about the leaks.

She said she was confident that they would not jeopardise relations between the
countries.

Describing the leaks as "the nuts and bolts of diplomacy that goes on around the
world", Trudeau said the communications leaked were typical of all embassies and
were no more than "day-to-day reporting".

"It is important to realise that this sort of communication is not official US policy, it is
not a public statement.

"This will not tarnish relations. Absolutely not! The relations are excellent and getting
better."

Further leaks reveal how former president Thabo Mbeki, who negotiated a political
settlement between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, was also criticised by the US government.
The documents show for the first time that the US believed that he was not a neutral
broker in the negotiations but favoured Mugabe's Zanu-PF.

A former US ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell, revealed this in a 2007

communique to Washington outlining options for ending Zimbabwe's political crisis.

"This solution is more likely to prolong than resolve the crisis and we must guard
against letting Pretoria dictate an outcome which perpetuates the status quo at the
expense of real change and reform," he said.

Dell, in a cable, described Mugabe as "more clever and more ruthless than any other
politician in Zimbabwe".

His criticism did not spare Tsvangirai, whom he described as ''a brave, committed man
and, by and large, a democrat but 'also a flawed figure, not readily open to advice,
indecisive and with questionable judgment in selecting those around him".
------------------
WikiLeaks document reveals US view of Zimbabwe (The Zimbabwean)

HARARE - Mugabe is ruthless, obsessive and deeply ignorant about economics;

Morgan Tsvangirai is indecisive; Arthur Mutambara is a lightweight. These are just
some of the sentiments of the former US ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell,
revealed this week by WikiLeaks.
An analysis of the Zimbabwean situation, entitled The end is nigh and written by
Christopher Dell as he was leaving his post in July 2007, is among the 250,000-plus
confidential and secret documents gradually being released by Wikileaks.
The documents include correspondence between the US State Department and
Washington’s embassies around the world. They focus on US policy and diplomatic
relations between the US and countries in the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa and
elsewhere.
Dell’s summing up of Zimbabwe gives insights into US thinking and objectives, as well
as Washington’s opinion about the leading political players in the country. The former
ambassador wrote that he felt the end was nigh for Mugabe, but that it was unclear how
he would actually leave power.
Foreseeing the possibility of a coalition government, Dell said: “Less attractive is the
idea of a South African-brokered transitional arrangement or government of national
unity. Mbeki has always favored stability and in his mind this means a Zanu PF-led
GNU, with perhaps a few MDC additions. This solution is more likely to prolong than
resolve the crisis and we must guard against letting Pretoria dictate an outcome which
perpetuates the status quo at the expense of real change and reform.”
Dell describes Zimbabwe’s opposition as “far from ideal”, adding: “the current
leadership has little executive experience and will require massive hand holding and
assistance should they ever come to power”. The document advises keeping “the
pressure on in order to keep Mugabe off his game and on his back foot, relying on his
own shortcomings to do him in”.
Dell emphasises the importance of the US, stating that “the UK is ham-strung by its
colonial past and domestic politics, thus, letting them set the pace alone merely limits
our effectiveness….Thus it falls to the U.S., once again, to take the lead, to say and do
the hard things and to set the agenda”.
WikiLeaks is a not-for-profit media organisation that aims to bring important news and
information to the public. The organisation provides a secure and anonymous way for
sources to leak information to their journalists, using a sophisticated electronic dropbox.
They publish thoroughly verified original source material alongside news stories so
readers and historians can see evidence of the truth.
------------------
U.S. Scorns 'Inept' MDC Leadership (The Herald)

The United States failed to effect regime change in Zimbabwe because it was working
with a weak MDC party with an inept leadership, leaked classified documents have
revealed.

Among 250 000 leaked documents published by Wikileaks on Sunday night is a

communication by former US ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell in which he
said there was no "ideal" opposition to Zanu-PF and President Mugabe.

In a scathing assessment of the two MDC formations, Dell said regime change would
have been easier to instigate had the parties had more "talent".

The communication -- titled "The End is Nigh" -- to the US State Department and other
diplomatic missions was on July 13, 2007 and gave Dell's assessment of how the 2008
elections were likely to go.

Dell said MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai was, however, useful for American
purposes in Zimbabwe.

He lamented: "Zimbabwe's opposition is far from ideal and I leave convinced that had
we had different partners, we could have achieved more already.

"But you have to play the hand you're dealt."

Dell said the MDC leadership had little executive experience and would "require
massive hand-holding and assistance should they ever come to power".

Last week, The Herald broke the story that Mr Tsvangirai, as Prime Minister in the
inclusive Government, had asked the British to second someone to hold his hand and
offer him "technical advice".
Dell described Mr Tsvangirai as a "flawed figure" who was "not readily open to advice,
indecisive and with questionable judgment in selecting those around him".

"He is the indispensable element for opposition success, but possibly an albatross
around their necks once in power.

"In short, he is a kind of Lech Walesa character: Zimbabwe needs him, but should not
rely on his executive abilities to lead the country's recovery."

Walesa, also a former trade unionist, was largely built up by the West to take charge of
Polish politics in opposition to communism during the Cold War.

Dell was dismissive of MDC leader Professor Arthur Mutambara.

"Arthur Mutambara is young and ambitious, attracted to radical, anti-Western rhetoric

and smart as a whip.

"But, in many respects he's a lightweight who has spent too much time reading US
campaign messaging manuals and too little thinking about the real issues."

He also took a dig at MDC secretary-general Prof Welshman Ncube.

Dell said he was a "deeply divisive and destructive player in the opposition ranks and
the sooner he is pushed off the stage, the better".

The American diplomat wrote of his belief that the sanctions-induced economic malaise
would lead more to President Mugabe's ouster from office than any other single factor
-- including the MDCs.

He said there was no prospect of the MDCs working together.

Commenting on the party's October 2005 split, he said this was "a totally unnecessary
self-inflicted wound".

He said MDC-T had "thin talent" and needed "the great saving grace" from Diaspora
professionals, entrepreneurs and businesspersons.

Dell expressed frustration that the MDCs could not co-ordinate activities with NGOs
like the National Constitutional Assembly and Women of Zimbabwe Arise.

He said NGOs -- many of which are also Western-funded -- and the MDCs were
"natural allies" with "more reason to work together than fight against each other".
In light of this, he hinted at other prospects for President Mugabe's removal from office,
including a "popular uprising", "Mugabe's sudden, unexpected death" and a military
coup.

He mentioned the possibility of former South African president Thabo Mbeki

facilitating a coalition government led by Zanu-PF.

Observers yesterday said the revelations showed the MDCs were mere pawns in the
American scheme to direct Zimbabwe's internal affairs.

Others noted the arrogance with which America gave itself the mandate to determine
who should lead.

Controversy stalked Dell since his posting to Harare in 2004 until his unceremonious
departure in 2007, when he left for Afghanistan where America is bogged down in a
military quagmire of its own making.

Before coming to Zimbabwe, Dell had been posted to other places where the US has
meddled in internal affairs with disastrous consequences -- Kosovo and Angola.

Dell was in October 2005 detained by security forces after trespassing into a restricted
area of the National Botanical Gardens, after which he tried to provoke a diplomatic
incident.

He also travelled to areas outside the capital without Foreign Affairs clearance as is the
norm the world over, and had a brush with the police in Mashonaland Central.

In November 2005, the Government summoned Dell for a dressing down in which he
was told to behave or pack his bags.

A similar riot act was read to him and other Western diplomats in March 2007.

Dell left in July 2007 when his term expired. He left without bidding farewell to
President Mugabe, as per diplomatic etiquette.
------------------
Mbeki Bias for Mugabe Highlighted in Leaked Diplomatic Reports (SW Radio Africa
- London)

The United States former ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell, highlighted what
he felt was former South African President Thabo Mbeki's bias for Mugabe and ZANU
PF during his mediation efforts in 2008.

On Sunday the WikiLeaks website released over 250 000 damaging documents made up
of US diplomatic and intelligence reports from around the world. According to one
confidential 2007 diplomatic report, Ambassador Dell said 'Mbeki has always favored
stability and in his mind this means a ZANU PF led GNU (Government of National
Unity), with perhaps a few MDC additions.'

He continued by saying; 'This solution is more likely to prolong than resolve the crisis
and we must guard against letting Pretoria dictate an outcome which perpetuates the
status quo at the expense of real change and reform.' This revelation confirmed what
many Zimbabweans believed, Mbeki wanted to ensure Mugabe retained power under a
half baked power sharing deal, despite Mugabe losing elections.

Ambassador Dell went on to give his blunt assessment of Zimbabwe's political leaders.
He said of Mugabe; 'He has survived for so long because he is more clever and more
ruthless than any other politician in Zimbabwe. To give the devil his due, he is a
brilliant tactician and has long thrived on his ability to abruptly change the rules of the
game, radicalize the political dynamic and force everyone else to react to his agenda.'

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai got a mixed review from the diplomat who said; 'He
is a brave, committed man and, by and large, a democrat. He is also the only player on
the scene right now with real star quality and the ability to rally the masses. But
Tsvangirai is also a flawed figure, not readily open to advice, indecisive and with
questionable judgment in selecting those around him.'

He went on to say the MDC leader was; '....the indispensable element for opposition
success, but possibly an albatross around their necks once in power.

In short, he is a kind of Lech Walesa character: Zimbabwe needs him, but should not
rely on his executive abilities to lead the country's recovery.'

Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara was described as 'young and ambitious,
attracted to radical, anti-western rhetoric and smart as a whip. But, in many respects
he's a light-weight who has spent too much time reading U.S. campaign messaging
manuals and too little thinking about the real issues.'

Mutambara's Secretary General in the party, Welshman Ncube, was described as; '....a
deeply divisive and destructive player in the opposition ranks and the sooner he is
pushed off the stage, the better. But he is useful to many, including the regime and
South Africa, so is probably a cross to be borne for some time yet.'

The Ambassador also bemoaned what he described as the lack of any real talent in the
MDC, saying Tendai Biti and Nelson Chamisa were the only exceptions. 'The great
saving grace of the opposition is likely to be found in the Diaspora. Most of Zimbabwe's
best professionals, entrepreneurs, businessmen and women, etc., have fled the country.
They are the opposition's natural allies.'
On Monday SW Radio Africa spoke the US Embassy spokesperson in Harare, Sharon
Hudson Dean, who told us the diplomatic 'cables' as they are called do not reflect the
official US government position. She said these were part of the everyday 'conversation'
between the ambassador on the ground and the US government.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa meanwhile said they would not rush into
commenting, as they wanted to seek the official word from the US government on the
leaked documents. 'I cannot just shoot from the hip,' he said while promising the party
would issue a response at the appropriate time.
------------------
Wikileaks: Ncube accuses US of plot to kill him (New Zimbabwe)

Industry and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube has accused the United States of a
plot to assassinate him after a leaked cable from its former ambassador to Zimbabwe
recommended that he be “pushed off stage”.

Ncube said Ambassador Christopher Dell’s 2007 cable, posted on the whistle blower
website Wikileaks, showed the United States’ “extensive” and “deep” interference in
Zimbabwe’s domestic affairs.

As the United States battled to contain the fallout from the leaking of some 251,000
diplomatic communications from 274 embassies, the release of Dell’s classified
communication has opened a new diplomatic fault line in Harare.

In it, Dell said Ncube “has proven to be a deeply divisive and destructive player in the
opposition ranks”, in the context of the 2005 split in the main opposition Movement for
Democratic Change.

Dell, who wanted opposition politicians and civic groups to rally behind Morgan
Tsvangirai, added cryptically: “The sooner he is pushed off the stage, the better.”

Ncube said he was in no doubt that Dell was soliciting his assassination.
In an angry telephone outburst from Harare, Ncube stormed: “I’m a politician and my
future rests in the hands of voters who can vote for me, or choose not to vote for me.

“But when I lose an election, I don’t leave the stage but continue fighting over ideas. So
if Dell is proposing that I be taken off stage, how do you do that without killing me?”

Ncube said he expected correspondence like Dell’s cable from “an ambassador of a
fascist state”.
He added: “It is quite surprising and shocking that a country which is supposed to be a
leading democracy in the world would behave in the manner in which its ambassador
to Harare behaved.
“He was seeking to determine on behalf of the people of Zimbabwe which leaders
should lead the country and interfering so extensively and so deeply in the internal
affairs of Zimbabwe that he had no problem recommending literally the assassination
of leaders the Americans don’t like.

“And their reason for not liking those leaders being that they refused to be part of their
politics of puppetry in Zimbabwe.”

No comment was immediately available from US embassy officials in Harare.

Zimbabwe comes 20th out of 274 on the Wikileaks website cable volumes ranking –
with more diplomatic chatter than Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The website says over the coming weeks and months, it will release 1,542 classified
documents on Zimbabwe, 1,417 unclassified and 39 secret files.
------------------
Wikileaks Reveals U.S. Role in June 12 Crisis (Leadership - Abuja)

Abuja — Wikileaks, an international non-profit media organisation, has revealed the

United States of America's role in the June 12, 1993, election that was annulled by the
military. The report, which recently released over 251,000 US embassy cables giving
accounts of the US State Department's correspondence with its missions abroad, said
that significant investments were made to midwife democracy in Nigeria in 1993.

The documents revealed the US role in the 1993 general elections and the June 12
impasse.

The documents further revealed that most of the non-governmental organisations

(NGOs) that were in the fore front for the actualisation of the June 12 election were
sponsored by the US embassy in Lagos to mobilize Nigerians against the military junta.

Notable among the NGOs, the report said, was the one spearheaded by "a notable
medical practitioner and human rights activist." One of the disclosures made in the
cable from the embassy to the State Department advised mobilisation of most of the
rights groups financially to enable them produce counter-government measures in the
event that the June 12 election was annulled.

The report said that this cable was believed to be the turning point of the US against the
General Ibrahim Babangida administration and subsequent sanctions on the Abacha-led
junta.

Also contained in the Wikileaks were the concerns expressed in a cable report to the
State Department from the US embassy in London indicating as well the concerns of the
Commonwealth over the then President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's failing health and
eventual death.
The reports had advised on contingency arrangements for Nigeria as there may be
impending political and constitutional crisis at the death of Yar'Adua.
------------------
U.S. Diplomats Talking of Yar'Adua's Death in June 2009 (Daily Trust)

London and Abuja — Commonwealth officials were in June 2009 anticipating that a
"constitutional crisis" would befall Nigeria because of President Umaru Yar'adua's
"sudden death", according to secret US diplomatic cables posted by whistle blower
Wikileaks yesterday.

The website released 251,287 documents detailing what it calls US 'spying' activities
around the world.

One of the correspondences from the US embassy in London dated June 11, 2009, eleven
months before Yar'adua died, quoted a Commonwealth official as saying that the group
was "keeping a watchful eye on Nigeria because of the constitutional crisis that could
ensue if President Yar'adua dies."

The cable said during a discussion with an American diplomat same day,
Commonwealth Political Director Amitav Banerji "indicated the Commonwealth is
keeping a watchful eye on Nigeria because of the constitutional crisis that could ensue if
President Yar'adua dies."

It added: "President Yar'adua's sudden death has the potential to prompt a

constitutional crisis. The Commonwealth would like to see Nigeria more active in the
region and in the Commonwealth across the board. Banerji noted that Yar'adua did not
make a single intervention at the last CHOGM, contrasting sharply with former
President Obasanjo who had been active in Commonwealth affairs."

Wikileaks revelation shows that Nigeria is among the top 20 countries where secret,
confidential and unclassified cables for US diplomacy originated from, ahead of even
Britain.

Nigeria is one of the key centres of the United States' exchange of secret embassy cables
for its geopolitical and international diplomacy.

Many leading international media have for the last three days been awash with top
stories obtained from the online portal about the underhand deals and secret US
correspondences and among top government leaders around the world.

The breakdown shows that there were at least 190 secret cables, 1,463 confidential
documents and 1,372 unclassified cables from the Abuja embassy while Lagos consulate
sent at least 73 documents, about 780 confidential and 634 unclassified cables, says the
whistle blower.
------------------
Leaked Reports Show U.S. Spied on Nationals (The Monitor)

New York — The United States government asked its diplomats to spy on their
colleagues at the United Nations, including envoys from Uganda, confidential memos
leaked on the internet yesterday show. Wikileaks, the publisher of whistleblower
information, made the correspondences public despite protests from the US and
European governments.

The classified documents show that US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton asked US
diplomats at the UN to spy on colleagues such as Uganda's Permanent Representative
there, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, and collect email passwords and other sensitive
information on their positions and intentions.

Uganda ends a two-year non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council next

month. While it is considered a US ally, it at times worried Washington in its voting by
rejecting US positions on countries like Burma, as well as hosting Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad amidst international pressure on the Middle East country over
its nuclear programme.

The leaked documents also show that the US government asked its officials in the
region to compile information on African leaders in the Great Lakes region, their close
associates and heads of their key institutions.

They include information on the health, background, control and views of leaders like
Yoweri Museveni, Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Joseph Kabila (DR Congo) and Pierre
Nkurunzinza (Burundi).

Information was also required on their relationship with each other "opinions toward
the US, training history, ethnicity (tribal and/or clan), and language skills of key and
emerging political, military, intelligence, opposition, ethnic, religious, and business
leaders. Data should include email addresses, telephone and fax numbers, fingerprints,
facial images, DNA, and iris scans".

At the United Nations, Washington also wanted credit card numbers, email addresses,
phone, fax and pager numbers and even frequent-flyer account numbers of figures like
UN boss Ban Ki Moon.

For permanent representatives like Dr Rugunda, also needed was "biographic and
biometric information". America's main intelligence services, the CIA, the Secret Service
and the FBI were included in the "reporting and collection needs" cable alongside the
State Department.
The directive is likely to spark questions about the legality of the operation and about
whether state department diplomats are expected to spy.
------------------
Ahoy Washington, Need Advice: Blackwater Plans Pirate Hunt (New York Times)

In late 2008, Blackwater Worldwide, already under fire because of accusations of abuses
by its security guards in Iraq and Afghanistan, reconfigured a 183-foot oceanographic
research vessel into a pirate-hunting ship for hire and then began looking for business
from shipping companies seeking protection from Somali pirates. The company’s chief
executive officer, Erik Prince, was planning a trip to Djibouti for a promotional event in
March 2009, and Blackwater was hoping that the American Embassy there would help
out, according to a secret State Department cable.

But with the Obama administration just weeks old, American diplomats in Djibouti
faced a problem. They are supposed to be advocates for American businesses, but this
was Blackwater, a company that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had
proposed banning from war zones when she was a presidential candidate.

The embassy “would appreciate Department’s guidance on the appropriate level of

engagement with Blackwater,” wrote James C. Swan, the American ambassador in
Djibouti, in a cable sent on Feb. 12, 2009. Blackwater’s plans to enter the anti-piracy
business have been previously reported, but not the American government’s concern
about the endeavor.

According to that cable, Blackwater had outfitted its United States-flagged ship with .
50-caliber machine guns and a small, unarmed drone aircraft. The ship, named the
McArthur, would carry a crew of 33 to patrol the Gulf of Aden for 30 days before
returning to Djibouti to resupply.

And the company had already determined its rules of engagement. “Blackwater does
not intend to take any pirates into custody, but will use lethal force against pirates if
necessary,” the cable said.

At the time, the company was still awaiting approvals from Blackwater lawyers for its
planned operations, since Blackwater had informed the embassy there was “no
precedent for a paramilitary operation in a purely commercial environment.”

Lawsuits filed later by crew members on the McArthur made life on the ship sound
little improved from the days of Blackbeard.

One former crew member said, according to legal documents, that the ship’s captain,
who had been drinking during a port call in Jordan, ordered him “placed in irons”
(handcuffed to a towel rack) after he was accused of giving an unauthorized interview
to his hometown newspaper in Minnesota. The captain, according to the lawsuit, also
threatened to place the sailor in a straitjacket. Another crew member, who is black,
claimed in court documents that he was repeatedly subjected to racial epithets.

In the end, Blackwater Maritime Security Services found no treasure in the pirate-
chasing business, never attracting any clients. And the Obama administration chose not
to sever the American government’s relationship with the North Carolina-based firm,
which has collected more than $1 billion in security contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan
since 2001. Blackwater renamed itself Xe Services, and earlier this year the company
won a $100 million contract from the Central Intelligence Agency to protect the spy
agency’s bases in Afghanistan.
------------------
Djibouti cleared Blackwater to kill pirates (afrol News)

The government of Djibouti permitted the controversial private US security firm

Blackwater "to operate an armed ship from the port of Djibouti" and to "use lethal force
against pirates."

The permission was given in February 2009, it is revealed in a cable from the US
Embassy in Djibouti, published by WikiLeaks today. Blackwater was to launch its
private armed pirate hunt in March 2009, it was reported.

US Ambassador James Swan, residing in the key US allied country Djibouti since
October 2008, was informed about the Blackwater-Djibouti agreement by Robert
Emmett Downey, Blackwater Worldwide's Development Manager for Africa. Mr
Downey said he had received the permission to operate an armed ship by Djibouti's
head of national security and intelligence services Hassan Said Khaireh.

"This is the only such arrangement so far that Blackwater has made with a host
government in the region, but Blackwater will likely engage Oman and Kenya in the
future," Ambassador Swan was told.

Blackwater, which has been involved in power abuse scandals in Iraq and Afghanistan,
is the world's largest private security company, often described as "mercenaries acting
above the law" by human rights groups opposing to a privatisation of military
operations.

Little has until now been known about Blackwater's engagement in Africa in general
and in the fight against Somali pirates in particular. The WikiLeaks revelation about
Djibouti's willingness to engage the company is expected to create strong reactions in
East Africa.

According to the information Mr Downey gave to the US embassy in Djibouti last year,
the company had received permission to operate the US-flagged 183-foot ex-research
vessel 'McArthur', which has landing space for two helicopters. "The ship will be armed
with .50-caliber machine guns, and is able to protect a 3-ship convoy," Ambassador
Swan was told. A staff of 33 US citizens would operate the vessel.

The Blackwater vessel was to participate in the international efforts to stop Somali
piracy in the western Indian Ocean. These efforts have been jeopardised by limited
resources and few nations being willing to send their navy vessels on longer
assignments. Repeated calls for more resources have gone unanswered, leaving much
space for Somali piracy operations.

In this power vacuum, Blackwater had found a "business concept," Mr Downey

explained. Blackwater's business concept was described as "having its armed ship escort
other ships requiring protection," according to the embassy report.

"Blackwater's counter-piracy operation does not have any clients yet, but Blackwater
expects business to develop following a public launch in Djibouti in March [2009] with
government of Djibouti officials," Ambassador Swan reported.

This planned "public launch" however never materialised. According to research by the
'New York Times', the new Obama government reacted negatively to Blackwater's anti-
piracy plans and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made sure the controversial
company cancelled its Djibouti plans.

Washington probably reacted especially negatively to the Blackwater plans, cleared by

Djibouti, as the company announced it would take no prisoners. "Blackwater has no
intention of taking any pirates into custody," Ambassador Swan reported. "While the
French have previously put pirates ashore in Puntland, Downey said Blackwater had no
plans to do so, either in Somalia or Kenya," his report added.

Mr Downey had emphasised that "international maritime law allows the use of lethal
force against pirates" and that this was part of Blackwater's business plan. He also
admitted that there was "no precedent for a paramilitary operation in a purely
commercial environment."

Djibouti intelligence chief Khaireh had agreed to these terms. The only demand by Mr
Khaireh for Blackwater to operate its armed ship from Djibouti was the Djiboutian
Navy would secure Blackwater's weapons "while ashore in Djibouti."

Ambassador Swan commented that Djibouti authorities probably had approved of the
controversial deal mainly due to commercial reasons. "Blackwater's presence in Djibouti
would make it one of the largest US businesses operating in the country," Mr Swan
commented.
But the Ambassador also made it clear he was sceptical about the Blackwater
announcement, saying he would "appreciate [the State] Department's guidance on the
appropriate level of engagement with Blackwater." Ms Clinton reportedly advised
against the embassy's engagement.
------------------
WikiLeaks reveals unflattering view of Kenya. Can US retain its influence? (Christian
Science Monitor)

Since 2009, Obama administration officials have used harsh language and diplomatic
pressure in an attempt to promote political reform in Kenya. The pattern continued this
week with a new demand from Ambassador Michael Ranneberger that the Kenyan
government “step up the fight against corruption, and replace Chief Justice Evan
Gicheru and Attorney General Amos Wako.”

Ranneberger’s call allows for a partial test of US influence in Kenya: how will the
government respond? If the officials step down early, the US will have successfully
flexed diplomatic muscle in one of Africa’s most important countries. If they do not, US
prestige could take a hit on the continent.

The Daily Nation has more of Ranneberger‘s remarks:

Mr Ranneberger said two major issues threaten the future stability of development:
“The culture of impunity and negative ethnicity.”

“We have seen in recent weeks a great deal of focus on corruption. Several officials have
‘stepped aside’. But we have seen before that ministers have temporarily stepped aside
for alleged wrongdoing only to return in new incarnations. To demonstrate seriousness,
actual prosecutions are essential and then imprisonment of those found guilty,” he said.

He called for corrupt ministers to be jailed.

According to the new Constitution, the CJ must be replaced by February and the AG by
August of 2011. Mr Ranneberger said speedy action must be taken to find suitable
replacements who can marshall a purge against corruption in government.

“We therefore urge the appointment of a new Attorney General and a new Chief Justice
of the highest repute, and we urge that the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission be
strengthened with additional resources,” he said.

He said President Obama is watching Kenya’s reform agenda “with a sense of

urgency,” adding that the US is Kenya’s largest development partner contributing over
$1 billion annually.
Although Gicheru is out within four months, and Wako within a year, no matter what,
Ranneberger seems to want them to leave early and perhaps to face trial as well. That
posture represents an escalation over his earlier public pronouncements: “While
Ambassador Ranneberger has previously called for strict vetting for future Justice and
Attorney General appointments, this is the first time he has called for the two officials to
step down.”

Ranneberger’s speech comes at a potentially awkward moment in US-Kenyan relations,

as the latest WikiLeaks revelations include documents from the US Embassy in Nairobi
that are unflattering to Kenya:

Leaked reports from the US embassy in Nairobi depict Kenya as “a swamp of

flourishing corruption,” the German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Sunday.

“Almost every single sentence in the embassy reports speaks with disdain of the
government of President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga,” adds Der
Spiegel.

These documents will not necessarily damage the relationship between Washington
and Nairobi, and some high Kenyan officials are sympathetic to Washington’s
perspective. The head of Kenya’s Anti-Corruption Authority, PLO Lumumba, indicated
some agreement with Ranneberger’s perspective in an interview with VOA. But I
wonder whether other Kenyan officials, including the president and prime minister,
might find offensive the idea that Washington views Kenya with contempt, and I
wonder whether they might feel that the US ambassador overstepped his role by calling
for the ouster of specific government officials.

In any case, Washington’s views on Kenya are becoming clear both through officials’
own remarks and through leaks. Now Kenyan authorities will have to decide how to
respond.

[UPDATE]:

Now we’re seeing some fallout from Wikileaks in Kenya.

VOA:

Kenya says it is surprised and shocked by reported comments about the country
contained in leaked US diplomatic memos.

The German magazine Der Spiegel says the cables depict Kenya as a “swamp of
corruption.”
Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua says that if the report is true, the
comments are malicious and a total misrepresentation of Kenya and its leaders.

Mutua says the top U.S. diplomat for Africa, Johnnie Carson, called Kenyan Prime
Minister Raila Odinga on Monday to apologize for what is expected to come out. Mutua
adds, however, that the US has not detailed what the cables say or for what it is
apologizing.

If you tell someone what to do, and then they start to think that you hold them in
contempt, are they more or less likely to do what you wanted?
------------------
U.S. to Govt - Sorry for What is Coming (Daily Nation)

Nairobi — The US government has apologised to Kenya over comments by some

American diplomats on the country's leadership.

US assistant secretary of State for African Affairs Johnny Carson, who served as
ambassador to Nairobi during part of the period covered by the leaked cables,
telephoned Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Monday.

Major milestones

There are 1,821 cables on Kenya in the documents being released on the WikiLeaks
website covering the period 1996 to February this year.

American ambassadors who served in Kenya during that period are Aurelia Brazeal,
Prudence Bushnell, Mr Carson, William Bellamy and Michael Ranneberger.

Major milestones of the time include former President Daniel arap Moi's re-election in
1997, his retirement after the 2002 General Election, emergence of the Narc government
during the first coalition between President Kibaki and Mr Odinga, the 2005
referendum, the 2007 election and subsequent violence and the National Accord.

It is expected that some of the documents contain candid and unflattering remarks by
American diplomats on President Kibaki, Mr Odinga, Mr Moi and other leaders of the
time.

The government on Tuesday held an emergency meeting in the morning and came out
fighting following the leaks.

Sources close to the high level meeting, which was chaired by Mr Odinga, said that
leaders were shocked that Kenya was only alerted to the contents of the WikiLeaks
leaks by Mr Carson, who apologised for the picture they were to portray.
Sources said those at the meeting wondered why the US, which had got wind of the
leaks weeks ago, informed other countries, especially those in Europe, even before the
contents were published by the British and American media.

Those at the meeting are said to have agreed that the government would no longer play
quiet diplomacy in the face of actions by foreign countries which "bordered on malice
and outright political sabotage".

This was the message that was delivered by the Government Spokesman during a
quickly convened briefing at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre during
which he described the reports depicting Kenya as a "swamp of flourishing corruption"
as "totally malicious and a total misrepresentation of our country and our leaders."

"We are surprised and shocked by these revelations," Dr Mutua said.

He said the American government alerted Kenya beforehand on the expected release of
the leaked documents touching on the country through Mr Carson who called Mr
Odinga on Monday afternoon.

"The US assistant secretary of state for African Affairs, Johnny Carson called our Prime
Minister yesterday (Monday) and apologised for what is expected to come out," Dr
Mutua said. "The US government indicated they are sorry for the content in the leaked
documents," he added.

He, however, said Mr Carson had not told Mr Odinga the contents of the leaked
documents and as such, the government did not know what the US government was
exactly sorry about.

The diplomatic cables released by whistleblower site WikiLeaks on Kenya are set to
shed light on major historical developments in the country and how the US perceived
the two coalition partners.

Among the events, which Kenyans will soon know what the US knew about are the
1998 US embassy and Kikambala Paradise hotel bombings, 2002 and 2007 General
Elections, the 2007/2008 post-election violence and those personalities banned from
visiting America in connection with the post-election violence and drug trafficking.

The cables will also have details of how the US viewed retired President Moi and his
regime. The cables' release was the third mass WikiLeaks release of classified
documents since it published 77,000 secret US files on the Afghan conflict in July, and
400,000 documents about the Iraq war in October.
------------------
Kenya calls US 'swamp of graft' cable 'malicious' (Associated Press)
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya's government spokesman said Tuesday that a U.S.
characterization of the country as a "swamp" of corruption in reports of leaked
diplomatic memos is "malicious" if true.

Alfred Mutua also said that the top U.S. diplomat for Africa called Kenya's prime
minister on Monday to apologize for the leaked memos.

U.S. Embassy spokesman John Haynes said senior State Department officials have
called senior Kenyan government officials to inform them and to discuss their concerns.
He did not elaborate.

The Obama administration has undertaken a worldwide effort to contain damage done
by the release of more than 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables by the online clearinghouse
WikiLeaks.

The lead headline in Kenya's Daily Nation on Tuesday read: "U.S. envoys see Kenya as
a 'swamp' of graft." The Daily Nation relied on a report from the German magazine Der
Spiegel, which said Kenya is depicted as "a swamp of flourishing corruption" in one of
the as-yet unreleased cables.

Mutua said that if the reports are true, "then it is totally malicious and a total
misrepresentation of our country and our leaders. We are surprised and shocked by
these revelations."

He said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnny Carson called Prime
Minister Raila Odinga to offer an apology.

"The U.S. government indicated they are sorry for the content in the leaked documents,"
he said. "They, however, have not told us what the documents say and what exactly
they are sorry for."

Kenya's government is facing several allegations of high-level corruption.

Earlier this month, the U.S. banned four senior Kenyan government officials and a
prominent Kenyan businessman from traveling to the U.S. because they are suspected
of being involved in drug trafficking. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger has said the
decision was based on reliable and corroborative reports.

Last month, Kenya's foreign affairs minister resigned to allow investigations into
allegations of a multimillion dollar scandal involving five Kenyan embassies in Africa,
Europe and Asia that was uncovered by a parliamentary committee.
------------------
Govt Hits Back At U.S. Graft Claims (Daily Nation)
Nairobi — Kenya has reacted angrily at leaked reports from US describing it as corrupt
and accused unnamed foreign powers of spending Sh1.6 billion to destabilise the
government.

Government spokesman Dr Alfred Mutua termed leaked reports attributed to the US

embassy in Nairobi describing Kenya as a "swamp of flourishing corruption" as "totally
malicious and a total misrepresentation of our country and our leaders".

"We are surprised and shocked by these revelations," Dr Mutua said at a press
conference Tuesday.

He said that the US had alerted Kenya beforehand of the expected release of the leaked
documents touching on the country through US assistant secretary of State for African
Affairs, Johnny Carson who had contacted Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Monday
afternoon.

"The US assistant secretary of state for African Affairs, Johnny Carson called our Prime
Minister yesterday (Monday) and apologised for what is expected to come out," Dr
Mutua said.

"The US government indicated they are sorry for the content in the leaked documents,"
he added.

He, however, stated that Mr Carson had not told Mr Odinga the contents of the leaked
documents and what the US government was exactly sorry about.

Dr Mutua fell short of directly accusing the US of funding a campaign to cause unrest in
the country with a view to toppling the grand coalition government.

He claimed that the "foreign powers" behind the plot to topple the government had
channeled in excess of US$ 20million (Sh1.6 million) to youth groups in the country
over the last few months.

"The Kenyan Government is concerned with foreign attempts to create despondency

against the government and the country in the guise of youth empowerment," he said.

"The Government is aware that a lot of money has been allocated to fund the youth to
cause an uprising against our country and lead us into turmoil in an attempt to install a
new leadership structure," he went on.

He added that the government was monitoring the issue "keenly" and will not allow
"outsiders" to ruin the peace and stability in the country.
------------------
Spokesman Alleges U.S. Plot 'To Topple Coalition' (Daily Nation)
Nairobi — Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua on Tuesday fell short of directly
accusing the US Government of funding a campaign to cause unrest in the country.

He claimed that the "foreign powers" behind a plot to topple the government had
channelled more than $20 million (Sh1.6 billion) to youth groups over the last few
months.

"The government is concerned over foreign attempts to create despondency against it in

the guise of youth empowerment," he said.

"The government is aware that a lot of money has been allocated to fund the youth to
cause an uprising against our country in an attempt to install a new leadership
structure," he went on.

He added that the government was monitoring the issue "keenly" and will not allow
"outsiders" to ruin peace and stability in the country.

Sources said the government was concerned that the "unaccountable funds" could be
used for any purpose against the government.

Dr Mutua declined to confirm or deny whether the "foreign powers" he was referring to
was the US government, which has been funding a number of programmes, mainly on
governance, reforms and youth empowerment through its aid arm, the Usaid.

He also declined to state whether the foreign powers wanted to oust the country's
leadership through democratic or undemocratic means.

On its official website, Usaid confirms that it is actively involved in programmes that
help in advancing good governance and citizen participation in Kenya.

"Following the violence after the 2007 elections, a new democratic transition including a
new Constitution has made improved governance a top priority for Usaid, since future
peace and stability depend on it," the aid agency notes on the website.

Dr Mutua said it would be premature to react to the released WikiLeaks reports until
they are made public.

"Genuine friends should not tell you everything is okay on one hand and on the other
hand say the opposite or initiate programmes against you," he noted while also
insisting that the ties between Kenya and US remain cordial.
------------------
Americans Want to Overthrow Government (Nairobi Star)
Nairobi — Kenya yesterday implied there was an attempt by the United States to
overthrow the government.

In a statement reacting to the imminent release of 1800 diplomatic cables from the US
embassy in Nairobi, Government spokesman Dr Alfred Mutua declared, "The
government is aware that a lot of money has been allocated to fund the youth to cause
an uprising against our country and lead us into turmoil in an attempt to install a new
leadership structure." Mutua released the statement as US Under Secretary of State
Maria Otero and ambassador Michael Ranneberger met representatives of the National
Youth Forum, which consists of over 60 national youth organisations, at the
ambassador's residence in Muthaiga, Nairobi.

"The Kenyan government is concerned with foreign attempts to create despondency

against the government and the country in the guise of youth empowerment," Mutua's
statement declared.

"The Government is monitoring these events keenly and will not allow outsiders to ruin
the peace and stability we are enjoying," he stated.

Mutua said the United States had contacted the government to express regret over the
cables.

"The US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson, called our
Prime Minister yesterday and apologised for what is expected to come out. The US
Government indicated they are sorry for the content in the leaked documents. They
however have not told us what the documents say and what exactly they are sorry for,"
said Mutua.

aThe leaked reports depict Kenya as "a swamp of flourishing corruption," according to
the German magazine Der Spiegel. "Almost every single sentence in the embassy
reports speaks with disdain of the government of President Mwai Kibaki and Prime
Minister Raila Odinga"

"It is important to make it very clear that Kenya has had a very good relationship with
the United States," stated the Government Spokesman.

He added, "We do not know the details of the leaked cables, but if what is reported is
true then it is totally malicious and a total misrepresentation of our country and our
leaders. We are surprised and shocked by these revelations."

The government statement adds, "It would be premature at this stage for us to comment
on the contents of the leaks until we see them. What we know is that true friends should
tell you the truth all the time and should not tell you everything is okay on one hand
and on the other hand say the opposite or initiate programs against you."
The 1800 Kenyan cables have not yet been released as the Wikileaks website is releasing
the 250,000 American diplomatic cables from around the world only bit by bit.

The Kenyan cables are however all from 2005 up until February 2010 apart from one
cable from May 1996.

The cables will reveal what the US really thought of the coalition government and the
role America played in the disputed December 27, 2007 election.

Following yesterday's meeting with the youth group, Otero underscored the important
role the youth in Kenya must play.

"The challenges of a nation are daunting to even the most veteran leaders, among them
ending a culture of impunity, mitigating ethic conflict, closing the inequality gap, and
promoting development among all Kenyans. But with the future in the hands of these
young leaders, I am confident that progress will be made," Otero said in a press
statement.

Washington is spending US$47 million in its 'Yes Youth Can!' initiative to empower
Kenyan youth to achieve a greater voice in national reform and create new employment
opportunities.

It includes a $12 million fund called 'Youth Innovate for Change' to provide young
people with capital for investment.

In recent months Ranneberger has travelled around Kenya meeting youth groups.

The US is furious about the Wikileaks which affect 240 American embassies and
diplomatic missions around the world.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday that the leaks were "an attack on the
international community" and not just the US.

In the first response to the leaked cables by a senior member of the Obama
administration, she said her government "deeply regrets" the release.

A grim-faced Clinton insisted America was taking "aggressive steps to hold responsible
those who stole this information".

Other American politicians were much angrier with one even suggesting that
WikiLeaks be classified as a terrorist organisation.
------------------
Stop Political Tours, Raila Tells U.S. Envoy (Daily Nation)
Nairobi — Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Wednesday asked US ambassador Michael
Ranneberger to stop his political activities among the youth.

Relations between Washington and Nairobi are tense following revelations of

unflattering cables written by US embassy staff on the Kenyan political elite.

The leaked cables are said to show that embassy staff regard Kenya as "a flourishing
swamp of corruption" and to regard with disdain both President Kibaki and Mr
Odinga.

On Wednesday, the PM advised the envoy to use diplomatic channels to mobilise the
youth to participate in politics rather than going out and doing it himself.

Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua on Tuesday sensationally accused an unnamed

foreign government of paying the youth to topple the government.

Mr Ranneberger on Wednesday denied funding the youth to undermine the

government and described relations between Nairobi and Washington as some of the
strongest in Africa.

At the same time, Mr Odinga revealed details of the phone call he received from a top
US diplomat warning Kenya of "unpleasant" information that will soon become public.

More than 250,000 secret memos have been stolen from the Department of State, most of
them instructions to its diplomats and their honest reports about the countries to which
they are posted.

The publication of the cables has caused America embarrassment across the globe.

Mr Odinga said the government was treating the leaks, by the whistleblower website
Wikileaks, as US government internal communication and was not threatened by them.

He told Parliament that the government does not panic because of leaked information,
but now the administration knows what "some of our friends think about us."

However, he described the information as "helpful and positive criticism".

He said he was unaware of any plans to overthrow the government. "The government
cannot panic because of some money being given to Kenyan youth in the ongoing US
empowerment programme," the PM said.

"What is Sh1.5 billion? We as a government are putting Sh5 billion to support the youth
while the World Bank has given Sh61 billion towards the same," he said.
But he cautioned that such projects must follow the proper channels. "The government
is stable politically. It will take more than hiring a few youth here and there to
overthrow the government."

He insisted that whatever the US does in Kenya has to be within the framework of
cooperation between the two countries.

"It is not proper for an envoy to recruit youth and put them somewhere and tell them
what to do," the PM added.

He was responding to a statement by Mr William Kabogo (Juja, Narc Kenya) who had
demanded a full disclosure of the conversation between the PM and the US assistant
secretary of state for African Affairs, Mr Johnnie Carson.

Mr Odinga said Mr Carson called him to warn him that some information would come
out over the next few days and it was not pleasant.

He said Mr Carson informed him that somebody had hacked the US government
website connecting embassies to its office in Washington and that "the information was
not going to be pleasant."

"I have no fear something untoward will come out other than what Kenyans already
know," Mr Odinga said.

On Mr Carson's call, the PM added: "He said I was calling to make you be aware of
some information that will be coming out in the next few days. He said that some of the
information may not be very pleasant because of the way they (US embassies)
communicate with their headquarters."