VZCZCXYZ0003
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNR #0919/01 0601027
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 011027Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9939
INFO RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 8239
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 4490
RUEHDJ/AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI 3983
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1160
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1865
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1844
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS NAIROBI 000919 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/E, AF/EPS, AF/PD, AND OES/ENV 
USAID FOR AFR/EA 
EMBASSY LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ECON EAGR EAID ETRD PGOV PREL KCOR PTER
PGOV, PHSA, PINS, MOPS, KISL, KE 
SUBJECT:  AMBASSADOR BELLAMY VISITS COAST PROVINCE 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: In a January 31  February 3 visit to 
Mombasa and the Coast Province, the Ambassador discussed 
counter-terrorism with Provincial Commissioner Maina. 
Ambassador Bellamy called on Mayor Taib of Mombasa who 
requested disaster management assistance and met with 
members of Parliament from Mombasa who described their 
constituencies as marginalized by the central government. 
The Ambassador toured the Port of Mombasa to review 
modernization plans. Interacting with the private sector, 
Ambassador Bellamy held a lunch for Christian leaders of 
the Coast province, spoke to the Muslim community, 
addressed a large gathering from the coastal tourism 
community, and ended his visit with a tour of two USAID- 
supported facilities. END SUMMARY. 
 
COUNTER-TERRORISM 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Ambassador and Provincial Commissioner (PC) 
Cyrus Maina met to discuss security and counter-terrorism 
issues. [NOTE: President Kibaki ordered PC Maina into 
retirement on Feb. 27 as part of a larger reshuffling of 
local authorities. END NOTE] The PC said Muslims on the 
coast felt targeted by USG anti-terrorism efforts following 
the 2002 Kikambala bombing, but this sentiment is starting 
to change as many Muslims realize there is not a planned 
campaign to target Muslims. Maina further noted that 
despite Embassy outreach, many U.S.-funded projects in his 
province are not well advertised. Maina strongly advocated 
for increased work with youth and women groups through 
cooperatives to improve their income generating 
capabilities. The PC's biggest push was for some form of 
news broadcast to Northeastern and Coast Provinces. He 
proposed a radio show or a weekly newspaper, which would 
advocate a U.S. perspective. 
 
¶3. (SBU) After the PC expressed his concerns, the 
Ambassador updated the PC on the Anti Terrorism Assistance 
(ATA) office's coastal security initiative and discussed 
ideas for improving disaster management capabilities. The 
PC said the coast lacks the capability to respond to either 
natural disasters or terrorist attacks, saying the first 
necessary step is a legal framework to coordinate disaster 
efforts as well as to prosecute perpetrators of major 
attacks. He said his Provincial Disaster Committee is 
useless due to lack of equipment and a workable authority 
for disaster management. 
 
THE PORT OF MOMBASA 
------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) In the Ambassador's first visit to the largest 
port in East Africa, he met with Harbor Master Twalib 
Khamis and Chief Engineer Johnson Atonga. Their message was 
that privatization and modernization would be key to the 
Port. They detailed recent purchases using $120 million in 
World Bank assistance for improving the transfer of goods 
through Mombasa. Khamis and Atonga also noted the Port 
works with police on the coast regarding coastal security 
patrols, and agreed it could be expanded-on particularly in 
anti-piracy patrols, as the Search and Rescue Center 
becomes operational in April. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Khamis and Atonga said that capacity constraint 
was the Port's biggest challenge, with 90% of containers 
leaving the port by road and only 10% by rail. Customs 
issues are also a constraint on the port, with an average 
of 9,000 containers a day arriving undocumented, resulting 
in an automatic two-week delay which in turn results in a 
shortage of space. Each container now 'only' requires 11 
stamps to clear customs versus the 21 stamps previously 
required. A new electronic customs tracking system from 
Korea may reduce clearance time from the current 18-day 
average wait. 
 
THE MAYOR AND MOMBASA MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT COMPLAIN 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶6. (U) Mombasa Mayor Taib Ali Taib made an appeal for 
disaster management assistance and training when the 
Ambassador visited his office. [NOTE: Mayor Taib was 
removed from office on February 16 due to a corruption 
scandal surrounding a recent tender award to an Italian 
garbage company. The Mayor is currently appealing his 
removal in court. END NOTE] Mayor Taib criticized the 
government for not tackling these issues after the 1998 
Embassy bombing, or even after the 2002 Kikambala bombing. 
When media asked the Ambassador about corruption issues, he 
recommended the GoK take action to curb corruption, but he 
did not comment on any individuals within the government. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Hosting a dinner for three Mombasa MPs, Ramadhan 
Kajembe, Anania Mwaboza, and Najib Balala, the Ambassador 
learned of their great dissatisfaction with the central 
government. The MPs said they felt as if the up-country- 
dominated central government was attempting to 'colonize' 
the Coast and dominate Coastal politics. They further 
explained that in Parliament they feel marginalized and are 
treated as radicals and outsiders, while officers from 
other regions dominate local government's highest levels. 
MP Balala reported that coastal constituencies are 
chronically under-funded, affecting efforts to improve 
schools and roads. 
 
TOURISM INDUSTRY TALKS TRAVEL WARNING 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Several prominent associations from the tourism 
industry gathered to hear the Ambassador give remarks. In a 
question and answer session which focused on the travel 
warning, Tasneem Adamji of the Kenya Association of Tour 
Operators explained that the Kenya tourism industry spent 
$75,000 last year to lobby for a rewording and downgrading 
of the travel warning with little result. The Ambassador 
promised the audience that he would review the travel 
warning, but explained that travelers must be warned if 
risks exist.  The Ambassador called on the industry to 
challenge the Kenyan government to improve the tourism 
infrastructure, including security, telecom, power, and 
roads.  He recommended that the tourism industry work with 
the Kenyan government and possibly USAID to direct funding 
towards conservation, since Kenya's environmental heritage 
is a key reason why Americans visit. 
 
CHRISTIAN LEADERS SAY THEY'RE THE MAJORITY 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) The Ambassador hosted a lunch with a range of 
Christian leaders from the Coast, including Monsignor 
Michael Ruwa, Anglican Bishops Julius Kalu and Lawrence 
Dena, Methodist Bishop Phius Kagwi, Reverend Mbuthia 
Waigwa, Pentecostal Reverend Sielel, and Jane Gilani the 
Coast Area Coordinator, National Christian Council of Kenya 
(NCCK). The Christian leaders described their relationship 
with Muslim community leaders as lukewarm, opining that 
Muslims were not interested in activities that span Muslim 
and Christian communities. They also theorized that 
Christians in Coast Province were the majority, and 
wondered why we appeared so focused on Muslim outreach and 
not community outreach in general, particularly in regards 
to educational funding. 
 
MUSLIM OUTREACH - A SUCCESS 
--------------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) The Coast region's most popular Muslim radio 
station, Radio Rahma, interviewed the Ambassador using 
questions gathered from listeners.  His answers to tough 
questions on U.S. policy regarding Iran, Iraq, and 
terrorism were well received, according to one listener 
Mohamed Hamid Khamis, a Mombasa businessman and community 
leader. Many listeners agreed, but wished the program had 
been longer and others recommended that it be the first of 
a series. The Ambassador later attended a graduation 
ceremony at the Muslim Civic Education Trust (MCET) in 
central Mombasa to recognize local young Muslim women who 
had recently completed a computer-familiarization course. 
MP Balala's comments were seconded by the Ambassador, who 
commended community leaders on the value of this program in 
assisting historically marginalized Muslim girls. 
 
MANGOES AND MANGROVES 
--------------------- 
 
¶11. (U) Touring the USAID-supported Milly Fruit Processing 
plant, which produces mango juice from crops in the Tana 
River area, the Ambassador listened to Director Saida 
Rashid, who explained that bad road conditions result in 
high wastage rates of up to 50% of the 10,000 tons of fruit 
produced in the Tana River delta. Energy costs are another 
concern. Continuing up the coast to Gede, the Ambassador 
visited a community on the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, the last 
remaining portion of virgin coastal forest that once 
stretched from Somalia to Mozambique.  The Ambassador 
toured an aloe nursery in the forest, visited a butterfly 
exhibition center, and officially opened a modern honey 
processing facility at the Kipepeo center in Gede. 
 
¶12. (U) COMMENT: The Ambassador's visit to Mombasa and its 
environs was a useful exercise in the Embassy's continued 
attempts to increase its presence on the coast of Kenya. 
During his visit, a variety of stakeholders encouraged the 
Ambassador to continue increasing the Embassy's visibility 
in Mombasa and on the Coast.  One initiative that post 
would like to consider is the development of a Virtual 
Presence Post as a means of increasing communication with 
coastal Kenya.  END COMMENT. 
BELLAMY