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The men have been held for a fortnight Newspapers in Kenya have demanded the resignation of the foreign minister who on Sunday said that seven hostages seized in Iraq had been released. There has still been no sign of the truck-drivers - three Kenyans, three Indians and an Egyptian. The East African Standard said it had been a "cruel hoax" and reported that Chirau Ali Mwakwere had been summoned by the president for an explanation. The wife of one of the hostages said her celebrations had turned to anger. 'Reckless' "I will not take the government seriously any longer until I see my husband personally in this house safe and alive," said Hidaya, wife of Salim Mohammed. "If Mr Mwakwere cannot take the initiative to resign, then President Mwai Kibaki should sack him for such blatant and reckless display of incompetence," the Standard said. Ibrahim Khamis had asked his family to pray for him "Our foreign ministry and, by extension, the whole government have committed an unforgivable blunder and someone should answer for it," said the Daily Nation in an editorial. Mr Mwakwere has been unavailable for comment since Sunday but has promised a news conference later on Tuesday. The Nation meanwhile reports that a Kenyan truck driver ordered by the Kuwaiti transport company which employed the hostages to drive to Iraq, has refused and returned home. "As I speak to you now, 15 Kenyans are on strike in Kuwait, demanding their travel documents to come home," the paper quotes Adnan Said as saying. The kidnappers have threatened to kill the men if the Kuwaiti firm does not pull out of Iraq and if Kenya fails to remove all its civilian contractors who are working there. A statement from the Indian government said the Kuwaiti employers and an Iraqi mediator who has been acting as a go-between with the kidnappers were still in touch and continuing talks. But this could not be confirmed. 'Optimistic' On Sunday the mediator said the kidnappers had told him to pull out of the negotiations. "I am withdrawing because I have reached no agreement with the [men's employer] Kuwaitis," Sheikh Hisham al-Dulaimi said. The Kuwaiti and Gulf Link Transport Company told BBC News Online on Monday it had asked Mr Dulaimi to reconsider, and said it was still "optimistic" about a breakthrough. "The kidnappers have made a lot of new demands. We have agreed to all their demands," a spokeswoman said, refusing to go into details. The lorry drivers were seized by militants calling themselves the "Black Banners" brigade. The Indian government has appealed to its citizens to refrain from travelling to Iraq. |
