An American diplomat, who police say was speeding, crossed the center line in his SUV and rammed into a full mini-bus, killing a father of three whose widow is six months pregnant, officials said Friday.
U.S. Embassy officials in Nairobi rushed the American and his family out of Kenya the next day, leaving the crash victims with no financial assistance to pay for a funeral and for hospital bills for the eight or so others who were seriously injured.
Latifah Naiman Mariki, 38, whose husband was killed in the crash, was almost evicted from her house this week after her landlord demanded rent. Mariki’s deceased husband, Haji Lukindo, was the family’s only source of income.
Mariki said neither the American driver nor anyone at the U.S. Embassy has contacted her, and she doesn’t know how she will provide for her three children, ages 20, 10 and 7, and the one on the way.
“It is difficult for me to handle this matter because my kids need to go to school. They need everything, basic needs,” Mariki said. “And we have no place to stay because we have to pay the rent. We have no money. … Even if my kids are sick I have no money to take them to hospital.”
Hilary Renner, a State Department spokeswoman in Washington, said the embassy extends its deepest condolences to Mariki’s family and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured. She said she couldn’t comment on whether the embassy employee would return to Kenya.
“The embassy is fully cooperating with the Kenyan authorities as they investigate the accident and work to aid the victims,” she said.
The American driver of the SUV, Joshua Walde, was an information management officer at the Nairobi embassy when he got in the crash on his way home July 11. He gave a statement to police, but because he has diplomatic immunity he was not detained.
A police officer familiar with the case who insisted he not be identified by name because he is not an official spokesman said of Walde: “He was driving very fast.” Pictures in a police dossier show that the SUV hit the front corner and side of the mini-bus, smashing in its frame. Kenyan mini-buses, known as matatus, also frequently drive fast and erratically.
Walde is an 11-year employee of the State Department who has worked in Kazakhstan, Uruguay and Croatia. Shortly after the crash, Walde updated his work history on the networking site LinkedIn to put his time in Nairobi in the past tense, from July 2012 to July 2013.
Walde’s wife circulated an email to sell a family vehicle and try to find new work locations for the family’s nanny and gardener after the crash. AP sent an email to Walde’s wife on Thursday asking if the family wanted to comment. No response was received.
The U.S. government is concerned about the impact the accident could have on bilateral relations with Kenya, a U.S. government official said. The official noted that embassy employees are typically evacuated for medical evaluations after traumatic events but are also flown out of a country to avoid any possible retribution or attack from others involved in an accident.
The police say the case remains under investigation. The Nairobi traffic police chief, Patrick Lumumba, said he is seeking assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to liaise with the U.S. Embassy. He said authorities didn’t detain Walde because “we don’t take diplomats into custody.”
A police spokeswoman, Ziporah Mboroki, said no charges had been filed against Walde the last time she checked.
Mariki, the widow, lives in a $125-a-month sheet-metal home in one of Nairobi’s slums. It has no running water, and the tiny and dangerous alleyways turn into a swampy mud pit when it rains. She must pay about $500 a year to send her two school-age children to class but doesn’t know how she will afford it. She said she would like to see Walde prosecuted in court.
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