This archive report was first published on 29 September 2019.
Kenyan Senator Isaac Mwaura has spoken out about his experiences with the US Secret Service while attending the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
According to a social media post by Senator Mwaura, he was unfairly treated by Secret Service officers on three different occasions for 'being an albino.'
On one occasion, Mwaura wrote, 'I get into the building and check-in at the security. I do the usual stuff of emptying my pockets, then I go through the machine and they do a body search. Then I’m told to step aside and I am kept waiting for over 30 minutes. The Secret Service agents ask for my ID and by this time, they have picked my entry card.'
He added, 'I give them my national ID and NHIF card as further proof of my identity. They tell me that they are looking for someone who fits my description and then they go like, ‘the photo is of the same person but the names don’t match’.'
Senator Mwaura claimed that he was held until Nairobi Senator Johnston Sakaja confirmed his identity, and that he was treated in a similar manner in a separate incident at Hotel Latte.
He alleged that Secret Service agents took his card, took photos of him secretly, and asked his colleagues to explain who he was, as if he was not a senator from Kenya.
Senator Mwaura also claimed that he was temporarily denied access to his hotel room by security officers despite providing his UN accreditation.
He stated, 'I reminded the Secret Service agent that he was a person of color and that I was a senator from Kenya. He was rude to ask me if I was a US senator. I told him he wasn’t the most important security agent and that he should step aside.'
After learning of the incidents, US Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter apologized to Senator Mwaura.
