Internal Incoherence? PS Sing’Oei Publicly Contradicts Mudavadi on UN SG Endorsement

PS Korir Sing’Oei publicly contradicted PCS Musalia Mudavadi on X. (Photo: Sing’Oei/Mudavadi/X)

Kenya’s top foreign affairs bureaucrat, Principal Secretary (PS) Korir Sing’Oei, has publicly contradicted his Cabinet Secretary (CS), Musalia Mudavadi, in a stunning display of internal incoherence regarding the race for the next United Nations Secretary-General.

The diplomatic confusion began on Monday when the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs CS, speaking from Moscow, officially declared Kenya’s support for the UAE’s candidate, Lana Nusseibeh, praising her extensive multilateral experience.

But just hours later, PS Sing’Oei took to X to issue a direct denial.

“Quite the contrary, Kenya has not expressed support for any candidate at this point,” Sing’Oei wrote on Tuesday morning, adding that Nairobi is following the campaigns keenly and will only support a candidate with the capacity to lead the UN.

Observers argue this was not merely a minor miscommunication but a glaring breach of diplomatic protocol, with the PS’ public contradiction of a sitting CS’ official statement on a global platform like X exposing a serious breakdown in communication within the Ministry.

It is also not an isolated incident. Sing’Oei and Mudavadi have previously contradicted each other publicly, causing diplomatic incidents.

This recurring pattern points to a deeper institutional dysfunction: the political leadership and the technocrats at the State Department appear to be operating on entirely different scripts.

The timing and context of Mudavadi’s endorsement make the contradiction even more intriguing. Kenya had not publicly welcomed any other candidacy for the UN’s top job.

The sudden support for the UAE’s candidate came just days after an Emirati minister met President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi.

Furthermore, Mudavadi made this endorsement while in Moscow for the Russia-Africa Summit

We reached out to PS Sing’oei to clarify what Mudavadi’s statement meant.

Specifically, we asked: Was the Minister’s endorsement a mistake? Has Kenya formally communicated support to the UAE, or is it retracting the statement?