Kenyan-born US senator "exploring ways" of helping home province

Bridges Burned in U.S., Political King Maker Hits Africa

November 20, 2007 11:34 AM

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/11/bridges-burned.html

Political consultant Dick Morris, who rose to prominence as a key adviser for President Bill Clinton and then fell from grace after a scandal involving a prostitute, has surfaced as a political consultant in an unlikely place — Kenya.

Leading presidential candidate Raila Odinga has brought Morris on as a consultant to help him beat incumbent President Mwai Kibaki in next month’s elections. Last week Morris arrived in Kenya on a tourist visa and held a press conference saying he believed Odinga was poised to win the election.

“I think the reason is he has a clear reputation for courage and for integrity and for change,” Morris said. “I am delighted to be here in Kenya and to help you get rid of the corrupt government.”

But news of Morris’ own scandals soon spread throughout Kenyan media. Letters to the editor and op-ed articles have severely criticized Odinga’s choice of consultant. One op-ed in Kenya’s The Nation newspaper laid out Morris’ past indiscretions, including his affair and leaking of sensitive information to a prostitute, and that the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services has Morris as one of the top 10 tax evaders in the state. As of Oct. 1, 2007 he still owed almost $300,000 in back taxes.

“Either Mr. Odinga is unaware — which is difficult to believe — of the man’s background or he chose to ignore it, which is a political mistake,” the op-ed states.

-snip-

Oh no, it couldn't possibly be that the BBC got its facts wrong.

This isn't even the BBC. It's the same "African Press" (not Associated Press) story that's been posted on this forum dozens of times.

And, yes, the African Press got their facts wrong. You can find just as many articles from the Nairobi Standard that list Obama's birthplace as Hawaii but nobody seems to interested in posting those. Yet this article with his name misspelled is hailed as authoritative.

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