Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images
Romanian Ambassador to Kenya Dragos Tigau during a press conference in Nairobi on March 3, 2022.
CNN –
Romania is recalling its ambassador to Kenya to Bucharest and has apologized after its envoy in Nairobi allegedly compared a monkey to African diplomats.
Documents obtained by CNN showed that African diplomats officially condemned Dragos Tigau’s remarks during a meeting of Eastern European envoys in April at the UN office in the Kenyan capital.
“The African group has joined us,” Ambassador Tigau reportedly said when a monkey appeared at a window in the conference room, the letter, which called for an apology, said.
“The African Group would like to condemn in the strongest possible terms the offensive, racist and degrading remarks,” wrote Chol Ajong’o, South Sudan’s ambassador to Kenya, who heads African diplomats in Nairobi.
The Romanian Foreign Ministry said it only found out about the incident on June 8, although it took place at the end of April.
CNN received two letters of apology that Tigau sent four days apart to African diplomats. Tigau initially said his comments came during “a long, heated and hotly debated meeting” and were an attempt to “defuse the atmosphere”. He later withdrew this section.
A statement from Romania’s Foreign Ministry said it hoped the case would not affect its “deep ties” with African countries.
“The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs deeply regrets this situation, apologizes to all those affected and firmly rejects and condemns all behaviors and attitudes incompatible with mutual respect,” the statement said.