Top UN officials talk of ‘ruthless’ Kenya President Ruto

A trove of highly confidential documents leaked from the US military’s tightly guarded registries have thrust Kenya on the path of a potential diplomatic storm, as they suggest that at least one member of the United Nations’ top brass has a deep mistrust for President William Ruto.

The Pentagon leaks, a set of documents leaked by Jack Teixeira, a man in his mid-20s who at some point worked in a military base, seem to suggest that one of the world’s most powerful countries has been spying on senior UN officials.

Teixeira allegedly leaked the data in batches starting last year, posting them in a social media group under Discord — an instant messaging social platform.

The group, US-based Washington Post reports, brought together young gun enthusiasts with a taste

Confidential talks

Confidential chit-chat between UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and his deputy Amina Mohammed in mid-February stick out like a sore thumb in the over 500-gigabyte document cache, as it indicates that the US could have been spying on the two bosses for an unspecified period of time.

In one of the conversations that seemingly occurred after the December 2022 African leaders summit in Washington DC, Ms Mohammed allegedly told Mr Guterres that President Ruto is “ruthless” and that she does not trust him.

At the moment, no context has been given regarding Ms Mohammed comments. There is also no confirmation on whether the conversation was formal or casual chit-chat between two colleagues.

Paper-thin relationship

The comments, however, have revealed a possible paper-thin relationship between the UN and Kenya after Dr Ruto’s ascent to power following the August 9, 2022 presidential election.

Aside from dealing with the US spying allegations, the UN top brass will have to juggle between handling the embarrassment caused while patching up relations with countries and leaders who may be offended by the alleged comments.

On the diplomatic level, where every uttered word counts, Ms Mohammed’s alleged comments may spark a nasty storm, as they could also be interpreted to be the UN’s stand.

Foreign and Diaspora Affairs CS Alfred Mutua had also not responded to our queries on Kenya’s diplomatic options going forward.

Some of the documents leaked indicate that the US believes that Mr Guterres is uncomfortably open to Russian interests.

The US and Russia have for ages had tension stemming from varying ideological, political and economic differences.