Tanzania has summoned Kenyan High Commissioner to Dar es Salaam Dan Kazungu to explain 'xenophobic' remarks made by Starehe MP Charles Njagua.
Tanzania’s Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said the government took the remarks seriously and has summoned Kenya’s envoy to explain.
“We summoned the Kenyan High Commissioner to Tanzania. We also spoke to our High Commissioner in Kenya," Majaliwa said.
Clarification sought
"The Kenyan diplomat said it was a personal utterance that had nothing to do with the official position of the Kenyan government. He promised that his country would summon the lawmaker to explain what he actually meant by the statement,” he added.
This came after Tanzania’s Speaker of Parliament Job Ndugai ordered his government to issue a statement on the safety of Tanzanians in Kenya.
In a clip shared on social media, Jaguar is heard accusing Tanzanians, Ugandans and Chinese traders for allegedly dominating Nairobi markets.
Starehe Constituency, which Jaguar represents, includes Gikomba market which is popular in Kenya for second-hand clothes and construction materials.
Kenyan government responds
His utterances come after complaints of Kenyan traders that Chinese nationals were selling second-hand clothes in Nairobi’s Gikomba market.
The Kenyan government distanced itself from the MP's comments and assured safety to foreigners who wish to invest in the country.
“We wish to state that this is not the position of the government and we denounce the comments carried in the video in the strongest terms possible," Government Spokesman Cyrus Oguna said.
"Such comments are unfortunate and have no place in today’s ‘global environment,” he further added.