US ambassador speaks out on Mutua visa saga
US Ambassador to Kenya, Bob Godec, has spoken out on the passport saga involving Kenya Film Classification Board chief executive, Ezekiel Mutua.
Mr Mutua had his diplomatic passport revoked on Thursday after he went public on social media bragging how he had acquired a visa to attend a global conference in the US and how his diplomatic passport had been delivered to his office.
In revoking the diplomatic passport, the Immigration Department stated that Mr Mutua does not qualify for one should therefore surrender it to the state.
The Department further explained that Mr Mutua was issued with the diplomatic passport in February 2013 while working in the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs as was supposed to surrender it upon leaving the office.
DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT
However, in a series of tweets, Mr Godec said that although visa allocation to individuals seeking to go to any American state is adjudicated in accordance to the US laws, the Kenyan government has the final say on who is eligible for a diplomatic passport.
1/3: The #US adjudicates visa cases in accordance with US law & the Kenyan Govt determines who is eligible for a Kenyan diplomatic passport.
— Ambassador Bob Godec (@BobGodec) September 30, 2016
But the envoy said he is prohibited from revealing the details of the issuance of Mutua’s Visa to the public.
2/3: US law prohibits us from disclosing details of individual visa cases. Read more on VISA eligibilities here: https://t.co/uzybEizqMx.
— Ambassador Bob Godec (@BobGodec) September 30, 2016
3/3: #US strongly supports #LGBTI rights as #humanrights. We reject discrimination based on sexual orientation & urge equal treatment 4 all.
— Ambassador Bob Godec (@BobGodec) September 30, 2016