Kenya's First Lady 'needs help'

2005-05-04 10:32

Nairobi - Kenya's influential and often controversial first lady Lucy Kibaki has provoked indignant protests and embarrassed expressions of concern with a bizarre late-night tirade against the press this week.

Two days after storming into the office of the country's largest media group with a phalanx of armed bodyguards to complain about allegedly unfair coverage of her and her family, Kibaki's behaviour was the talk of Kenyan newspapers, the diplomatic cocktail circuit and the slums of the capital.

"Lucy on the loose," screamed the banner front-page headline in Nairobi's Standard newspaper, which devoted five full pages to the overnight Monday incident under the title "A night of fury."

The Daily Nation - whose headquarters were the site of the first lady's outburst - also splashed the story across five pages with coverage focused not only on the incident but also on lawmakers' calls for President Mwai Kibaki to "take charge of his family."

Psychological stability

"The Nation Media Group had the honour of hosting in its newsroom until the early hours of yesterday morning a surprise guest in the person of first lady Lucy Kibaki," the paper began a lengthy editorial on the matter.

The lighthearted tone, however, ended there, with the paper maintaining that Mrs Kibaki's behaviour had wider implications for Kenya, its international reputation and standards of decorum expected of high-ranking officials and their families.

"While the issue of the first lady's actions over the past few days has become a hot talking point in Kenya and beyond, it goes beyond analysis of a temperamental individual to wider issues of security, protocol and behaviour expected of people holding high office," it said.

The paper gently touched on questions about the psychological stability of the first lady - who has been no stranger to controversy since her husband was elected in 2002 - and the role played by her security guards.

The Standard, which ignited Kibaki's rage with its coverage of her attempts to shut down a Friday night farewell party for the outgoing Kenya country director of the World Bank, was more direct.

"Clearly, the president's wife needs (all the) help and support she can muster in handling herself as the first lady and in dealing with situations that have far-reaching implications for herself, the presidency and the country," it wrote in an editorial.

Coming as it did on the eve of World Press Freedom Day, Kibaki's five-hour "raid" on the offices of the Nation Media Group prompted an angry reaction from The People daily, which wrote: "Spare us first lady's fury."

"Lucy handled herself pitifully," said the Kenya Times.

Meanwhile, Nairobi's diplomatic circle was abuzz with rumors and second-hand stories of alleged instances of the first lady's erratic behavior ranging from temper tantrums to confrontations with her husband, staff and Kenyan officials.

"She is certainly not a wallflower," said one diplomat.

- AFP