This archive report was first published on 1 August 2019.
On July 30, 2019, a container carrying a donation from the Chinese government to Kenya's Parliament arrived empty in Nairobi, sparking an investigation.
The donation, which included computers and projectors, was part of a pledge made by Cao Jianming, the Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of China, during a visit to Nairobi in April.
According to Michael Sialai, the Clerk of the National Assembly, the container was opened in the presence of senior officials, and it was confirmed to be empty.
Ordinarily, under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, goods tagged 'diplomatic' cannot be opened by customs officials at the ports of entry, except if the sending or recipient diplomatic mission agrees to it.
Beijing had hired a company, M/S Bolloré Africa Logistics, to deliver the consignment, but the consignor had not responded to inquiries by the time of publishing.
Reacting to the incident, the Chinese Embassy in Kenya said that it had been 'shocked' by the development and was working with security agencies to investigate the matter.
