Damage control is very normal especially touching on matters diplomatic they can even give immunity to satisfy the public and safeguard the relationship and business.Fresh reports actually say that the Sheikh Ultimatum was met and Gold delivered from Congo via a chattered plane. Through their ambassador the United Arab Emirates has distanced itself from the Kenya gold scandal that has been a hot trending topic in Kenya in the past recent days.
Reports from the story claim that a relative of the country’s ruler(UAE) is reported to have lost up to Sh400 million to a syndicate in Kenya.The UAE ambassador to Kenya, Mr Khalid Al Mualla, said that there is no link between his government and the gold traders currently involved in a dispute in Kenya, adding that his country is disappointed to see a series of memes depicting the royalty as giving orders to Kenya.
The ambassador’s statement came amid claims that the Dubai ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, had been piling pressure on the Kenyan government to release gold reportedly detained at the airport.
Asked about a letter purportedly written by the Dubai leader to Kenyan authorities, he said: “There is no such letter. It is all fabricated, and even if there were, who in their right sense would believe him? He is the vice-president of the country. There has been no official communication on this issue between Kenya and the UAE.”
“I think it is important that we let things take legal channels because Kenya and the UAE have competent authorities who can do the job of investigating this issue,” the envoy said in an interview on Tuesday. The UAE amabassador said that there was no link between the Sheikh and the scandal that was being investigated by the DCI. He further dismissed reports about a letter said to have come from the ruler of Dubai regarding the gold consignment in question and conveyed his displeasure at a series of memes depicting the royalty as giving orders to Kenya.
In diplomacy, it is ambassador who delivers the message if indeed there is communication between two countries, and in this case the UAE ambassador would have been the one to deliver it. Speaking about a meeting that was reported to have happened between President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Sheikh, he stated that the two enjoyed close ties and had not met to discuss the saga. The ambassador also rubbished claims that the complainant, Ali Zandi was a relative of the UAE royal family.
The envoy explained that Zandi, who claimed to have lost money in the scheme, was not a citizen of UAE and as such, he could not be related to its one of its rulers.
“I can’t tell you if he (Zandi) exists or not, but who is he? Can anyone show me proof that the gold was going to the ruler of Dubai? I have not seen such a thing and I think someone was working hard to damage relations, which are cordial. Both Kenya and UAE are smarter than that,” stated Khalid.
He added that both countries have investigating authorities and “If there is a dispute between two companies, we are not the ones who are going to determine who is right or wrong. There is the law and if people have facts, they can go to court.”
Kenyan detectives have travelled to the UAE to try and get to the bottom of the saga.