Letter Could Sour Kenya, Saudi Ties

The East African Standard (Nairobi)
NEWS
February 22, 2004
Posted to the web February 23, 2004

By Murithi Mutiga
Nairobi
A diplomati row between Kenya and Saudi Arabia appears imminent over the
contents of a controversial letter purporting to prove links between a Saudi
diplomat and terror networks operating in the country.
The letter, allegedly authored by the Saudi embassy's religious attachÈ, is
addressed to a Sudanese Islamic leader who was expelled from Kenya early this
year on suspicion that he was linked to terrorists.
But the Saudi Ambassador to Kenya, Nabeel Khalaf Ashour, has dismissed the
letter as a forgery and called a Press conference this morning to ask Kenyan
authorities to probe its origins. Kenyan government officials yesterday
confirmed knowledge of the letter but expressed similar doubts about its
authenticity.
In the one-page letter, written in Arabic on the Saudi embassy's letterhead,
the official, Abdulrahman bin Mohammad Al-Tuaimi, is quoted informing the
director of the Al Muntada Al-Islami NGO, Sheikh Muawiya Hussein, that he had
secured funding from a wealthy Saudi Sheikh for his NGO.
The letter also quotes him discussing the bombing of the Paradise Hotel in
Mombasa. Speaking to the Sunday Standard, the Saudi ambassador dismissed the
letter as a forgery and urged Kenyan authorities to investigate its origins.
He said that his government was committed to the war on terror, adding that the
letter had the potential to ruin bilateral relations between the two countries.
An aide to National Security minister Chris Murungaru confirmed that the
ministry had received the letter but said its authenticity was doubtful.
"It is inconceivable that a terrorist would communicate in such clear and
unambiguous terms. Terrorists normally use coded language and we have grave
reservations about the authenticity of this letter," he said.
The issue of terrorism is a tricky one for Saudi Arabia, which the United
States has long accused of turning a blind eye to the activities of the Saudi-
born leader of the Al Qaeda network, Osama bin Laden.
Following the September 11 terror attacks in the US, perpetrated principally by
Saudi nationals, and recent terror attacks on Saudi soil, though, authorities
in the Gulf nation have demonstrated renewed resolve to combat Al Qaeda and
have turned up a string of arrests of suspected terrorists.

   

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