Kenyan Ambassador Recalled Following Sex Allegations

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

The Kenyan ambassador to the United States was recalled after allegations surfaced that he sexually assaulted a fellow Kenyan diplomat, according to a diplomat posted at the United Nations who refused to be identified by name.


The story was widespread in the Kenyan press, but much of what has been published has not provided an accurate depiction of the incident. Law enforcement officials told the New York Sun that the ambassador, Leonard Ngaithe, 47, and his 41-year-old colleague went out last Wednesday and they became intoxicated. They returned to the woman’s Flushing, Queens, home where they allegedly had intercourse. The woman ran from Mr. Ngaithe to her neighbor’s house and said he had sexually assaulted her, police said. The neighbor called the police. The woman was uncooperative, police said. During an examination in Flushing Hospital, the woman told police she would not press charges against Mr. Ngaithe. She further said the intercourse was consensual. Mr. Ngaithe, whose residence is a Potomac, Md., house owned by the Republic of Kenya, was not arrested.


Mr. Ngaithe has reportedly been a diplomat for more than two decades, of which less than two years have been spent as the Kenyan ambassador. Repeated calls to the Mission of Kenya to the United Nations were not returned yesterday.


The Web site for the Embassy of the Republic of Kenya shows a smiling photograph of Mr. Ngaithe next to a message from the ambassador. He wrote: “May I take this opportunity to reassure that I and the staff of the Embassy will continue to enhance relations with the United States of America and to serve the Kenyan community in the United States diligently.”


Investigations might not be undertaken if an accuser recants his or her story. In 2003,a lady friend accused Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations, Munir Akram, of beating her up in her Upper East Side home. The woman later changed her story and refused to press charges. The ambassador was not recalled and the Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to prosecute the case.


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