US clears Ranneberger of 'promoting abortion' charge

American diplomats in Kenya did not violate a US law forbidding lobbying for or against abortion, the State Department's inspector general ruled in a report issued on Thursday.

The judgment is based on a review of internal documents, both secret and unclassified, as well as on interviews with US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger and other officials in the embassy in Nairobi and at the State Department in Washington.

The investigation, carried out between June 21 and July 12, came in response to a request from three Republican members of Congress who charged that US public funds were being spent in support of a 'Yes' vote in the August 4 referendum.

The lawmakers argued that the alleged backing of the 'Yes' side amounted to a violation of the law against abortion lobbying because the new constitution, they claimed, will give Kenyan women easier access to abortion.

State Department inspectors “did not find any evidence that US embassy officials made any private or public statements to Kenyan government officials, nongovernmental organisations (NGO), or any other actors expressing either a positive or negative position on the abortion provision in the draft Kenyan constitution,” the report states.

The review by the department's Office of Inspector General also found, however, that some of Ambassador Ranneberger's public statements in April could be taken as “advocating for a 'Yes' vote” on the constitution itself.

In subsequent public comments, the US envoy stated more clearly that the embassy “is supporting the constitutional reform agenda and not a 'Yes' vote,” the report adds.

Mr Ranneberger told the inspectors, the report says, that it is the US government's position to support the constitutional reform process without specifically urging adoption of the proposed document.

The ambassador himself acknowledged, the report adds, that he is “walking a fine line between advocating reform and voting 'Yes'.”

Mr Ranneberger also made clear that the Obama administration viewed approval of the constitution as essential in enabling Kenya to achieve stability.

“If the reform agenda fails, and the Constitution is the heart of the reform agenda, then this country is in crisis,” the ambassador told the inspectors.

The US Agency for International Development (USAid), in a separate report given to the three anti-abortion lawmakers last month, indicated that some US funds had been distributed to Kenyan organisations with the explicit intention of promoting a 'Yes' vote.

On that point, the new State Department report notes, Ambassador Ranneberger said he did “not review the specific grant language and had been unaware of the specific wording” contained in the summaries of grants for pro-constitution groups documented in the USAid examination.

USAid's own inspector general is also investigating the charges made by the three members of Congress. Those findings have not yet been released.

On the question of whether the new Constitution expands abortion rights, the State Department's inspector general finds that current Kenyan law will apparently remain in effect for now.

"Unless and until the Parliament passes additional legislation either repealing the current penal code provisions or amending them, it appears that the penal code currently in effect (in conjunction with the constitutional limitations) will continue to control under what circumstances a Kenyan woman legally can have access to abortion,” the report says.