Richard Kathuka

TO THE GERMAN EMBASSY, THE NETHERLANDS EMBASSY, @FCBayern , @AFCAjax, @FIFAcom, @UEFA, @CAF_Online, @WilliamsRuto and @moyasa_ke: KENYA IS NOT A PUBLICITY STUNT. OUR LIVES ARE NOT A PR CAMPAIGN. AND OUR SILENCE IS NOT FOR SALE. @GermanyinKenya @Diplo_Jazz @NLinKenya @HenkJanBakker3 Let us address you directly. On January 5, Bayern Munich and Ajax are expected to headline the opening of Kenya's new national stadium. Politicians are celebrating. Football brands are getting publicity. But ordinary Kenyans have questions that deserve more than diplomatic silence and glossy photographs. WHAT EXACTLY IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS EVENT ORGANIZER? Have your governments, embassies or any associated institutions provided financial, diplomatic or logistical support for this match? Have you facilitated any arrangements? If so, what are the details? If not, say so clearly. What due diligence have you conducted on the source of funding, the organisers and the human-rights record of the institutions involved? Kenyans continue to demand accountability over abductions, alleged extrajudicial killings, police brutality and corruption. Families want answers. Citizens want justice. Yet we are being asked to celebrate an international football spectacle while these questions remain painfully urgent. WHAT IS YOUR POSITION ON THESE CONCERNS? Do you consider human rights and accountability relevant only when convenient, or do these principles apply even when your institutions and commercial partners engage with politically powerful governments? Are your embassies participating in corruption or human-rights abuses in Kenya. We are demanding transparency about your involvement, if any, and a clear public position on the concerns Kenyans are raising. To @FCBayern and @AFCAjax: What is the full financial arrangement behind your participation? Who is paying your fees and associated costs? Is any Kenyan public money involved, directly or indirectly? What independent human-rights checks have you undertaken? What tangible benefits will reach Kenyan clubs, players and grassroots football? To @FIFAcom, @UEFA and @CAF_Online: What accountability standards should apply when international football events are organised amid serious public concerns about human rights and the use of public resources? Will you support transparency and meaningful investment in Kenyan football beyond one high-profile match political campaign strategy match? @moyasa_ke: Publish the event's funding arrangements, the respective contributions of public and private sponsors, the contractual obligations and the measurable benefits to Kenyans. Explain why local football clubs cannot receive comparable visibility and sustainable support. 🇩🇪 @GermanyDiplo 🇳🇱 @DutchMFA: How much money linked to corruption in Kenya has been identified, frozen, recovered or investigated in Germany and the Netherlands, respectively, and how many credible requests for assistance involving suspected assets held by Kenyan public officials remain unresolved in your respective Countrie? Kenyan citizens deserve facts, figures and transparency your not diplomatic silence. We also need to know how this event serves Kenyans facing rising living costs, fuel-price pressures, strained healthcare and education, and unresolved concerns about missing citizens and state accountability. LET US BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR: WE ARE NOT AGAINST FOOTBALL. WE ARE AGAINST IMPUNITY, SECRECY AND THE POLITICAL EXPLOITATION OF SPORT. Kenyan football has its own clubs, players, coaches and supporters. They deserve investment, not selfies with international clubs to receive the spotlight. To the ambassadors: your silence will automatically be interpreted as complicity. Diplomacy cannot become an excuse to avoid legitimate questions. Come out publicly and clarify your governments' involvement, in our corruption and your position on human rights violation in Kenya. @BBCAfrica @BBCWorld @hnnsbnd #KenyaDeservesAnswers #KenyanFootball