Dwight Saragay was the first senior diplomat in Kenya to be charged with a capital offense after he was convicted guilty of killing a former ambassador to Venezuela on Wednesday.
Nearly all aspects of Saragay’s career and fall were quick.
The wheels of justice began to turn slowly, but everything else happened extremely quickly. And finally, Justice Roseline Korir found both of them guilty on Wednesday.
Along with Moses Kalya, Alex Wanyonyi, and Ahmed Omindo, Sagaray was found guilty on all three counts.
According to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), all diplomats are to be regarded as immune from legal action or prosecution under the laws of their host country under international law.
Since they are exempt from criminal prosecution, the immunity must first be waived in accordance with a procedure if they are to be accused.
But within 24 hours, Saragay, who ascended quickly in the Venezuelan Foreign Service, had his immunity revoked and was detained at Gigiri Police Station.
It’s interesting that the Venezuelan Foreign Service never voiced any opposition.
Once more, none of the three leaders—President Hugo Chavez, Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro, and Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz—spoke about the matter.
Sagaray’s coworkers describe him as a fortunate man who ascended quickly but plummeted even harder and appeared to be in the right place at the right moment.
He had previously worked as a lawyer for the Ministry of Labor, where one of his duties was to represent Venezuela in conferences throughout the world where labor-related topics were discussed. In just a few days after being hired by the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry, he was transferred to Kenya, where he stayed for a short time before being promoted to the second-highest position at the Nairobi embassy.
Saragay took over as the country’s top envoy when Gerardo Carrillo Silva, the previous ambassador, left Kenya in March 2011 after being accused of sexual harassment by three male colleagues.
He seized command of the embassy, including its finances. The Venezuelan capital of Caracas sent Olga Fonseca to Nairobi to take over as the Charge d’Affaires in the middle of July 2012.
