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Kenyan Officials In Dubai To Resolve Row Over Expulsion Of Dubai Ruling Family Members

4/27/2010 3:37 PM ET


(RTTNews) -

Kenyan officials said Tuesday that a high-ranking delegation from the African country is currently in Dubai to resole a diplomatic row caused by the expulsion of four members of the Gulf state's ruling family in April.

According to officials, the Kenyan delegation led by Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula arrived in Dubai on Monday to resolve the issue through diplomatic discussions. But the discussions between the two sides were extended on Tuesday after the talks failed to yield any results.

The diplomatic row between the two countries erupted in April after Kenyan authorities detained and deported four visiting Arabs, suspecting them to be terrorists. Dubai said later that the four were actually members of its royal family , adding that they were arrested and deported when they were on a holiday in the Kenyan resort of Mombasa during the Easter holidays.

Kenya apologized to Dubai over the incident, but the United Arab Emirates state responded by enforcing strict visa requirements for Kenyan nationals seeking entry into the country. The new restrictions allow only Kenyans with degree certificates to enter the UAE.

The move affected many Kenyan traders, who procure their goods from the duty free markets in the Emirate state. Also, many Kenyan businessmen use Dubai as a base for their international operations. With the new restrictions, Kenyan traders and businessmen will be allowed to enter Dubai only if they provide proof that they are university graduates.

There are some 37,000 Kenyans employed in Dubai's informal sector, with their remittances contributing significantly to the African country's foreign exchange earnings that depend primarily on horticulture, tea and tourism.

by RTT Staff Writer

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Ooops !

You have to ask yourself how stupid some people must be, to persist in accusing someone of being a terror suspect, as far as to the point of deportation/expulsion, when, presumably, at the first sign of trouble, they identified themselves as members of the ruling family of Dubai. Does no-one even stop to think "hmmmm...perhaps we should check this out - we could be in a whole load of brown stuff if this turns out to be true........."

I suspect someone is getting a serious a$$ kicking in Kenya as we speak.....

Good job it wasn't people from the Gadaffi family. I think they would be in more trouble than just a visa restriction.....

The Kenyan forces acted like idiots, the family members were on holidays and nothing more.

The Gaddafi case was different; he Libyans believe Gaddafi's son has the right to commit crimes anywhere he wants, and they threw a tantrum because the Swiss thought otherwise.

The pity of the whole incident is that innocent Kenyan Nationals are now going to suffer because of a stupid decision being made by the Domestic Authorities in Kenya. Hopefully they can reslove this, because believe it or not the effect will be felt throughout the market in Dubai as the exports that leave Dubai are quite significant.

BlueOrb wrote:You have to ask yourself how stupid some people must be, to persist in accusing someone of being a terror suspect, as far as to the point of deportation/expulsion, when, presumably, at the first sign of trouble, they identified themselves as members of the ruling family of Dubai. Does no-one even stop to think "hmmmm...perhaps we should check this out - we could be in a whole load of brown stuff if this turns out to be true........."

I suspect someone is getting a serious a$$ kicking in Kenya as we speak.....

Good job it wasn't people from the Gadaffi family. I think they would be in more trouble than just a visa restriction.....

I agree.

What the Kenyans did is inexcusable.

I can understand the suspicion and detention part. But that could’ve been quickly cleared up by one call to the UAE embassy, who would’ve surely known about the presence of these UAE VIP’s in Kenya.

A very dumb and costly mistake. And, as usual, it’s only the average Joe who suffers when governments squabble!!!

BlackburnRovers wrote:http://africannewslive.com/?p=1670

The names of the guys in the photo do not indicate that they are part of any of the ruling families of the UAE!!!???

Could this be a different case?