Mwende Mwinzi, Kenyan Ambassador to Seoul, South Korea, has opened up on being racially abused after her controversial appointment by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Speaking to media on Tuesday, July 13, Mwende disclosed that other than facing opposition from Kenyan Legislators, she received derogatory insults.

Making public the extent of the insults, Mwende noted that her children were also affected.

“As a woman, in particular, I found a lot of derogatory things being directed my way. Whether it was racial or was because I was not married to a Kenyan, which my sons were able to read,” Mwende explained. 

“Of course, after reading all that they became even more defensive,” she added while detailing how her sons handled the situation.

The Ambassador further disclosed that she would never again seek any appointive or elective position in Kenya. In 2017, Mwende ran for the Mwingi parliamentary seat but lost.

“I am by nature political, so I will always be politically inspired and engaged but I will never vie for a seat again, no. I believe there are many ways of serving the country, so I am leaving that to others and I will remain useful in the background.”

After her controversial appointment in 2019, Mwende presented her credentials to South Korean President, Moon Jae-In, in 2021.

In 2019, a heated debate on her nationality and eligibility for appointment ensured in the National Assembly.

Parliamentarians argued that she was a citizen of two countries and therefore not eligible for appointment unless she revoked her American nationality.

She was forced to petition the Constitutional and Human Rights Division of the High Court to stop Members of Parliament from forcing her to renounce her US citizenship before taking up the job.

Mwende – whom MPs approved for the job on condition she gives up her US citizenship – said it would be a violation of her rights to be forced out of something she did not choose.

Other than the controversial appointment, Mwende recounted how she survived a building collapse in the US, saying it changed her perspective of life. That was during the September 11 attack that left thousands dead and dozens injured. At the time, she was working at the Two Financial Center.

“When the buildings collapsed, I was across the street. I was buried in debris and I was pregnant with my second son,” she stated.