Dragos Viorel Tigau, the ambassador of Romania to Kenya, has been recalled after using a racial slur during an important UN meeting in Nairobi.
The ambassador is said to have compared Kenyan diplomats to monkeys and his racist remarks were first made public by Kenyan foreign affairs official Mr. Kamau Macharia.
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Macharia took to his Twitter account to write;
Appalled &disgusted at learning of remarks by Romanian Amb in Nairobi in reference to African Group members as monkeys during Eastern European group meeting. Utter shame attempts to cover up this disgrace. This is intolerable &unacceptable in any Age let alone 21 Century in Nairobi!
According to a note from the embassy of South Sudan, Dragos Viorel Tigau said ‘The African group has joined us’ when he saw a monkey in the conference room, at a window. The Romanian government, on Saturday, announced that they had begun the process to recall the ambassador after being briefed about his behavior. The government went on to apologize to African diplomats for Tigau’s remarks in a letter dated June 10.
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The Romanian MFA deeply regrets this situation, conveys its apologies to all those affected, and strongly rejects and condemns all behaviors and attitudes incompatible with mutual respect. Romanian ambassador to Kenya should return to Romania as soon as possible, and the MFA’s internal Control and Diplomatic Evaluation Unit should immediately scan the necessary procedures, including the establishment of internal necessary measures to be taken in the given situation.
Romanian letter
The ambassador’s remarks have sparked outrage among diplomats and Kenyans, all of the uniting to condemn the Romanian ambassador for the racial slur. Diplomats have demanded a public apology from the Romanian government, asserting that they will not accept a private apology.
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Africans have condemned the incident saying that anyone who is racist is not fit to be a diplomat asking the Romanian government to act accordingly on the matter.