Romanian ambassador to Kenya in racist outburst
Romania’s ambassador to Kenya will be recalled after his racist outburst
0
0
“The African Group has joined us,” said Romania’s ambassador to Kenya, when a monkey appeared at the window of the conference room of the South Sudanese embassy in Kenya. Dragos Viorel Tigau will now almost certainly be recalled from his diplomatic post by the Romanian Foreign Ministry for his racist outburst.
According to a note from the South Sudanese embassy in Kenya, this incident occurred on the 26th of April 2023.
“The African Group would like to condemn in strongest terms possible the insulting, racist and degrading utterances,” wrote Chol Ajong’o, South Sudan’s ambassador to Kenya who leads African diplomats in Nairobi.
The Romanian foreign ministry said on Saturday that it had begun procedures to recall its ambassador. It said that it had only heard of this incident during the week.
“We deeply regret this situation and offer our apologies to all those who have been affected,” said the Romanian foreign ministry in a statement, adding that racist behaviour or comments were “absolutely unacceptable”.
Tigau was said to have presented a a written apology according to the foreign ministry, adding that its statement was communicated to African ambassadors in Bucharest on June 9.
The Romanian foreign ministry “hopes that the incident will not affect the relationship with the countries of the African continent”, the statement added.
The meeting was attended by 21 delegations – eight in person and 13 online, according to Kenyan media outlet The Daily Nation.
The Kenyan diplomat Macharia Kamau said the episode “appalled and disgusted” him.
