Free article preview

Nairobi needs its fix

Politicians and police show no signs of investigating two people named as ‘drugs kingpins’ by the US government

Although the United States named John Harun Mwau and Naima Mohamed Nyakiniywa ‘drugs kingpins’ and froze their assets in the USA on 1 June, Mwau is conducting a vigorous campaign to clear his name and may well avoid a serious investigation, let alone prosecution, in Kenya. The designation by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) came after a campaign by US diplomats in Kenya to force action on drugs-trafficking which was laid bare when WikiLeaks published US State Department cables on the issue from 2006 to 2008. Mwau, an Orange Democratic Movement member of parliament and owner of the Nakumatt supermarket chain, was asked to resign his post as Assistant Trade Minister in December over previous drugs allegations. Many of those named in the cables as unwilling to act against him and others in the drugs trade are still in office (AC Vol 52 No 13)....

(This article contains approximately 1512 words)

end of free article preview

Current subscribers: log in now to read the complete article. Misplaced your password? Then click here for a password reminder.

Not a subscriber? Then you can read this article in full either by becoming a subscriber now, for 3, 6 or 12 months, or you can buy this individual article.

Subscribe to Africa Confidential:
Buy this article:

3-month subscription
Prices from £205.00 (+ VAT where applicable)

6-month subscription
Prices from £376.00 (+ VAT where applicable)

12-month subscription
Prices from £705.00 (+ VAT where applicable)
UK & European Union
£17.00 (+ VAT where applicable)

Rest of the world
$27.00

If you have a print subscription already, click here for a password that gives you full access to the website.
If you are logged in, but still cannot access the full text of this article, email customer services or telephone us on +44(0)1638 743633.

Africa Confidential's reporting and analysis is valued by a wide range of organisations and individuals: from corporate executives, country risk analysts, national politicians and members of the diplomatic corps, to intelligence operatives, academics, journalists and NGO personnel.

Here's what our readers say about us:

"We regard Africa Confidential as one of our best and most reliable sources of information and analysis."

Intelligence Assessment Service, Privy Council Office, Government of Canada

"You are the best reporter on Africa alive. I look forward to your Intel."

Robert Stewart, CEO, Hawk Uranium Inc., USA

"If you want the detail and you want the dirt, the little blue newsletter [Africa Confidential] that drops through your letter box is like having your own private spook who knows Africa inside out and who's also one hell of a gossip."

Jonathan Miller, Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Channel 4 News, London, UK

"Since the demise of reporting on Africa in Western newspapers, and especially in the UK, in recent years, Africa Confidential has become ever more indispensable to anyone trying to make sense of the continent.

It provides the context one needs to understand vast changes Sudan has undergone since the signing of the peace agreement in 2005 and the explosion of conflict in Darfur.

The scope of its coverage of everything from the latest mining deals and rebel uprisings in the Democratic Republic of Congo to the political crisis in Kenya since the 2007 election is simply unparalleled."

Karl Maier, Africa & Middle East Editor, Bloomberg News

Free article preview

Nairobi needs its fix

Politicians and police show no signs of investigating two people named as ‘drugs kingpins’ by the US government

end of free article preview

articles by country