MPs Fault Foreign Affairs Ministry Over Silence on Kenyan Woman’s Death in Australia
Members of Parliament have criticised the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for failing to provide a timely response on the death of a Kenyan student in Australia, saying the delays have hindered parliamentary oversight.
The National Assembly Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations told the House that it has waited three weeks for an official response on the death of Sheila Chepkorir Tanui, who died in Sydney on 19 May. Committee chair Nelson Koech said repeated efforts to obtain the required documents had been unsuccessful because senior officials authorised to approve the ministry’s response were unavailable.
Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Musalia Mudavadi and Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei were identified as the officials whose signatures were required. Both were accompanying President William Ruto to the G7 Summit in France when the ministry prepared its draft response, preventing the committee from receiving the final documents.
Koech said the government should consider introducing digital signatures to avoid similar delays when senior officials are outside the country. Sigowet-Soin MP Justice Kemei also criticised the ministry, saying Cabinet Secretaries should appear before Parliament to respond directly to questions about the welfare of Kenyans living abroad.
He added that members of the Diaspora Affairs Committee have also experienced delays in receiving updates on issues affecting citizens overseas. The death of Tanui remains the subject of conflicting accounts. Australian police are treating the case as a suspected suicide, stating that she fell from the 19th floor of the hotel where she worked and studied.
Her family disputes that conclusion, arguing that her injuries do not match the reported fall and saying they have not been given access to CCTV footage or witness statements. Elgeyo Marakwet Woman Representative Caroline Ngelechei, who raised the matter in Parliament, has called on the Kenyan government to seek a transparent and independent investigation by the Australian authorities.
Parliament is also awaiting a response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the death of engineer Moses Robert Magosti, who died in Mozambique last year and was cremated in circumstances that have raised concerns among his family.
