Kenya to probe reports of women’s mistreatment at Lebanon office
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Nairobi. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Kenya to probe reports of women’s mistreatment at Lebanon office
The government says it will send officials to Beirut to assess reports of mistreatment of Kenyan women who seek help at the consulate in Lebanon.
Kenya’s Ambassador to Kuwait, Halima Mohamud, said her Mission was aware of reported mistreatment of Kenyan women who visited the outpost in Beirut seeking much-needed assistance.
“We are planning to travel to Lebanon for a fact-finding mission in the first week of August, because our airspace is currently closed,” she told the Nation on Tuesday.
Ms Mohamud was responding to a CNN storypublished this week that detailed accusations from a number of Kenyan women who said the Kenyan Honorary Consul in Beirut — Sayed Chalouhi — physically and verbally assaulted them, as well as overcharging fees.
They also accuse the Lebanese national and his assistant, Kassem Jaber, of pressuring them to pursue sex work in order to come up with money for repatriation fees.
The Kenyan Embassy in Kuwait is also accredited to Lebanon. But due to distance, the Kenyan government appointed the Lebanese Honorary Consul to handle Kenyan affairs in Lebanon.
