Outgoing United Kingdom High Commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott recalled a plot by former President Uhuru Kenyatta's regime to retaliate against Britain after Kenya was red-listed during the pandemic.
Speaking to KTN News on Saturday, June 3, Marriott stated that England directed her to ban Kenyan flights from entering the UK following the growing cases of Covid-19.
She sought to mediate between the two governments and issued two requests to the British administration. One was that UK scientists video call Kenyan scientists to explain the phenomenon and for the announcement to be made after the Easter holidays.
Marriott noted that the UK government initially agreed to her plea but placed Kenya on the red list without following through with her requests.
"At first, they agreed but ultimately the UK government did not get me the scientists and made the announcement on a Good Friday," she stated.
The announcement, according to Marriott, caught her flatfooted as the Kenyan government also had an emergency meeting to deliberate on how to retaliate against Britain.
"On the following day, the Kenyan government plotted all the nasty things they could do to the UK. At the time, I wondered whether I could do this anymore. I was close to issuing my resignation notice," she recalled.
While reacting to being added to the red list, Kenya argued that the decision was discriminatory, and punitive and threatened bilateral ties with the UK and security.
Kenya, in retaliation, ordered visitors originating from or transiting through UK airports to undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine at a government facility at their own cost.
"The decision by the Government of the United Kingdom to 'Red List' Kenya and to stop all travel from Kenya for those residents in Kenya and those transiting through Kenya, to the United Kingdom has been received with regret and disappointment," Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs then lamented.
Kenya later exempted travellers visiting from Britain from the quarantine lits weeks after England lifted the ban.
Election Reforms
While speaking with KTN News, the UK High Commissioner revealed that the UK supported the Kenyan government's agenda to reconstitute the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) before the 2027 General Election.
Further, she noted that a strong Opposition was necessary to hold the government to account. Marriott also called upon transparency from politicians during the campaign period to gain citizens' trust.
While reviewing her tenure as UK High Commissioner, she highlighted that maintaining a private life was quite difficult, as several people approached her in social areas seeking VISA assistance.
She, however, remained cagey in revealing her next course of action but pointed out that she was ready for the next challenge.
"I'm not allowed to say yet, we have only asked the host government for permission but it's a country even more challenging to work than Kenya, for good and bad," she noted.
In July 2023, Neil Wigan is set to replace Marriott as UK's High Commissioner to Kenya.
