A shortage of essential personnel is hampering operations at Kenya’s diplomatic mission in Rabat, with the embassy still without a translator and other key officers nearly two years after it was established.
The situation has left the limited number of officers at the mission carrying extra responsibilities, with a parliamentary committee warning that the gaps are affecting efficiency and the delivery of services.
The Kenya Embassy in Rabat currently has six home-based staff and eight locally engaged officers. However, a fact-finding team from Parliament found that the mission does not have several officers considered important to its day-to-day operations.
Among the vacant positions are those of a translator, clerk, foreign relations officer and defence attaché.
The committee said the absence of the officers has increased the workload for those already stationed at the mission, forcing them to handle duties beyond their assigned roles.
"This shortage has placed an excessive workload on the limited staff, leading to operational strain and reduced efficiency. The absence of a translator has hindered communication in a French-and Arabic-speaking environment, affecting diplomatic engagement and service delivery. Also, the lack of a structured staffing model during the establishment of the Mission has resulted in key positions not being filled from the outset, further compounding human resource challenges," the report tabled in the National Assembly by the leader of the delegation and Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan states.
The report says the staffing problems began during the early stages of setting up the mission, when there was no clear staffing structure to ensure that all the required positions were filled.
The committee, chaired by Belgut MP Nelson Koech, said the unfilled positions have affected the mission’s ability to handle diplomatic duties, administrative work and specialised assignments.
"These officers are essential for effective diplomatic engagement, administrative efficiency, and specialised functions such as defence cooperation and diplomacy."
According to the committee, the existing workforce has had to take on several roles because of the shortage of core personnel.
It said this arrangement has put pressure on the officers and affected the speed and effectiveness with which the mission responds to its responsibilities.
Language has emerged as another challenge for the embassy, with the committee noting that French and Arabic are the main working languages in Morocco.
The absence of a dedicated translator means officers have had to depend on the limited language skills available within the mission when dealing with communication needs.
"In the absence of a dedicated translator, the Mission relies on limited internal capacity, including staff with basic language proficiency," the committee said.
The staffing concerns come as the Rabat mission approaches two years since it began its operations.
Kenya initially ran the mission through a Chargé d’Affaires from December 2023 as the diplomatic representation was being established. This arrangement continued until July 2024, when Kenya appointed its first resident ambassador to Rabat.
The ambassador formally took up the diplomatic assignment after presenting the Letters of Credence on August 30, 2024.
The move completed the formal accreditation of the Kenyan representation and marked the full operationalisation of the Mission.
Despite the appointment of a resident ambassador, the parliamentary team found that several important positions remain vacant.
The committee said the failure to put in place a structured staffing plan at the beginning of the mission contributed to the continued gaps.
It said the vacancies have created human resource challenges while also placing additional demands on officers already working at the embassy.
The committee further linked the communication difficulties to the staffing problem, saying the lack of a translator has made it harder for the mission to operate effectively in an environment where French and Arabic are widely used.
It said addressing the staffing gaps would help reduce the workload on existing officers and strengthen the mission’s ability to handle diplomatic engagement, administration, defence cooperation and services to those it serves.