Envoy Nominee to Algiers Grilled on Kenya's Stance on Western Sahara Conflict

By Amina Wako

Friday, April 5, 2024

Despite the nominee's 27 years of service in the public sector, with 17 years spent at the foreign ministry, Kaluma faced scrutiny over his lack of proficiency in foreign languages during grilling.

Kenyan ambassadorial nominee to Algeria, Timothy Kaluma, was tasked during his confirmation hearing with elucidating Nairobi's stance on the contentious Western Sahara conflict to legislators.

Kaluma, a career diplomat with experience in Kenyan missions in Islamabad and the UN Geneva, faced questions from Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan regarding Algeria's support for Western Sahara.

"Algeria is the principal supporter of Western Sahara. We have previously opened an embassy in Rabat and it seems our policy towards North Africa is shifting. How would you ensure Kenya doesn't get entangled in the conflicts of the two rivals?" posed Yusuf Hassan.

Kaluma, who has previously worked under the Peace and Security Directorate at the Headquarters, said, "Kenya submits to the AU position on Western Sahara and the UN resolution that agreed that the people of Western Sahara should be given an opportunity to determine their cause through a referendum."

"Whatever we have as a country and whatever they have as a country will be tapped through collaborations... My role will be to strengthen our relationship with Algeria," he added.

The conflict between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front began in 1975 when Spain withdrew from its former Sahara colony, later known as Western Sahara.

After Spain's departure, Morocco and Mauritania partitioned the territory.

The Polisario, with support from Algeria, wants an independent state in the Western Sahara, a vast stretch of mineral-rich desert which Morocco sees as a sovereign part of its territory.

They have waged an armed struggle before agreeing to a ceasefire in 1991 on the promise of a UN-supervised referendum on self-determination, which has never happened.

Despite the nominee's 27 years of service in the public sector, with 17 years spent at the foreign ministry, Kaluma faced scrutiny over his lack of proficiency in foreign languages during grilling.

"Looking at your CV, I noted you have been a career diplomat. You have not invested in acquiring any foreign service. You only speak Swahili, Taita and English. Do you feel you would be handicapped serving in a country that speaks French and Arabic?" posed Yusuf Hassan.

"I would like to state that I served in the Kenyan mission in Geneva, where French is a formal language. I understand French and I am continuing to hone my skills," responded Kaluma.

He was further queried by MP Joshua Kandie from Baringo Central whether he has an idea of what he is going to do in Algeria to increase trade volumes.

"Our exports to Algeria are minimal. We haven't signed any formal agreement with Algeria to govern our engagements and this explains why we have low volumes," said Kaluma.

He added, "My role will be to work with the Algerian government on how we can come up with a formal trade agreement that will guide us... On the balance, I believe there is a lot of work to improve trade."