Romania has recalled its ambassador to Kenya over his racist comments at a meeting in Nairobi where he compared monkeys to African diplomats, according to reports.
Dragos Viorel Tigau was at a UN building in Kenya’s capital on 26 April when he allegedly commented “the African group has joined us” after he sighted a monkey outside the window of the conference room.
It was reported on Saturday that Romania’s foreign ministry recalled Mr Tigau after receiving complaints of the racist comment following the meeting.
Mr Tigau allegedly made the racist remark before the African diplomats arrived for the meeting but several people in attendance found his comment insensitive and disrespectful, the Kenyan Foreign Policy reported.
The Romanian foreign ministry said they were informed of the incident only recently and recalled Mr Tigau as soon as they found out and issued an apology.
“We deeply regret this situation and offer our apologies to all those who have been affected and strongly reject and condemn any behaviour and any attitude incompatible with mutual respect.”
It added that racist behaviour or comments were “absolutely unacceptable”.
Several others found the incident disgraceful and said that they were appalled by the Romanian envoy’s remark.
Kenyan diplomat Macharia Kamau tweeted that he was “appalled” and “disgusted” at the remarks by the Romanian ambassador in Nairobi “during the Eastern European group meeting”.
He added: “Utter shame attempts to cover up this disgrace. This [is] intolerable and unacceptable in any age, let alone [the] 21 century in Nairobi!”
It was also reported that the African diplomats sought clarification from Mr Tigau and the Kenyan foreign ministry.
The Guardian reported that the South Sudanese ambassador to Kenya, Chol Ajongo, wrote to the director general of the United Nations Office on 31 May and expressed his shock and disgust at Mr Tagau’s “disparaging and unacceptable remarks”.
Mr Ajongo was the acting dean of the Africa group for the meeting on 26 April. He was later thanked by many for “standing firm as the chair of the group of African diplomats”.
He also demanded a clear public personal apology from the ambassador. The letter to the director general also reportedly said that the African group was “not prepared to participate in the same spaces” as Mr Tigau.
One Twitter user wrote: “I hope #Romania and other European countries learn from such utterances. We can’t tolerate ignorance anymore. It’s time we stand as African nations.”
Reports also said that Mr Tigau has since “presented his apology, including in writing”, according to the Romanian foreign ministry. The ministry also hoped “that the incident will not affect the relationship with the countries of the African continent”.
