Kenya: Two executives of a Chinese telecoms firm, ZTE, battling to retain a multi-billion-shilling tender to supply police with communication and surveillance equipment have been kicked out of the country.
ZTE is owned by the Government of China and its winning of the tender was challenged in court by Huawei Technologies Company. The latter, a privately owned firm, is also Chinese. The deportation of the two ZTE executives adds a fresh twist to the controversy stalking lucrative national security tenders.
Just two days before the two ZTE executives were bundled out of the country, Parliament put the brakes on a Sh12.3 billion contract awarded to mobile communications giant Safaricom by the Government to manage the national security communications system.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has been featuring in adverts on print and electronic media for the same. The two officials, Mr Yang Yong alias Thomas and Zou Lingying alias Eileen, directors in charge of government enterprises and marketing respectively, were picked up at dawn on Saturday, and held for over 12 hours before being deported around 10pm.
Chinese nationals working in Kenya often adopt English nicknames for the benefit of locals. Authorities declined to comment on the reasons for their deportation.
CID officers reportedly arrested the three at 3am on Saturday from their residence at Mimosa Court, off Ngong Road. They were taken to Kenya Ports Authority’s (KPA’s) inland depot police post along Mombasa Road in Nairobi where they were held to await deportation…
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