NAIROBI, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Kenya accused Western envoys on Friday of "shameless blackmail" and "gross condescension" for trying to pressure the head of the electoral commission out of his job over the chaotic presidential poll. Local media reported this week that U.S. and European Union ambassadors visited Samuel Kivuitu, chairman of the Electoral Commission of Kenya, to urge his resignation or face a travel ban to their countries. But some diplomatic sources said no such direct confrontation took place, though Western nations do support the recommendation of an independent inquiry that the commission be totally overhauled due its failures during the December vote. Widespread irregularities and a disputed result led to two months of violence that killed at least 1,300 people and effectively paralysed east Africa's largest economy. Public wrath after the crisis has focused on Kivuitu, with many Kenyans demanding the resignation of him and his team. Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said he was outraged by the "audacious and blatant breach of protocol" by some ambassadors in their behaviour towards Kivuitu. "It is unacceptable for an ambassador accredited to Kenya to physically walk into an office of a holder of a constitutional office and directly confront him with the aim of attempting to force his resignation," he said. "Such shameless blackmail, applied through open disregard of established norms of conduct of diplomats, in favour of a style and tone reminiscent of colonial mindset, is an insult to the Kenyan public." Wetangula said President Mwai Kibaki's government would not tolerate such "a pattern of activism". "I urge these individuals, who continue to demonstrate this grossly condescending behaviour, to respect the proven ability of Kenyans to deal with this internal matter." The diplomatic sources said Wetangula was exaggerating the matter and unfairly scoring points with the Kenyan public by playing the anti-colonial card. The spat reflects growing impatience among Kenya's major donors at the slow pace of political reform in the east African nation, which won independence from Britain in 1963. (Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
A view of the MV Faina, a Belize-flagged cargo ship owned and operated by Kaalybe Shipping Ukraine, as observed by the crew of USS Howard September 25, 2008, in this handout ...
