North African staff at WFP Haiti fired'because not black enough'

 ROME – World Food Programme employees from Arab countries working in the WFP Haiti country office were replaced with black African staffers evidently because “they were not black enough,” as part of a purge by the Kenyan woman country director and her deputy, former employees claim.

 “In Haiti the international staff were initially more or less balanced,” a UN source said. “there were two Chinese only but the rest were split in white and black,” the source added.

 In all some 60 to 70 WFP international staff work in Haiti under the country director, Wanja Kaaria, who receives a lucrative D1 salary and hardship posting package.

“Now it is two Chinese only and almost everyone else is black (not necessarily from Kenya but for sure black people from Africa).

 “Even two north Africans were replaced ... maybe they were not black enough,” the source said, speaking on condition they not be named.

 UN investigators from New York have flown to Port au Prince to investigate the reverse discrimination following complaints to the UN Ombudsman in New York, the sources added.

 The WFP press office in Rome did not immediately respond to a request for comment made by the Italian Insider. 

 Commenting on Italian Insiders initial report on the state of affairs in the Haiti operation, a reader commented that "if WFP authorities in Rome want to have a complete picture about how Wanja manages a country office, they must investigate in Cameroon, reach out to international staffers who were in Cameroon from Aug/Sep 2020 to Aug 2024."

 "They will find that Cameroon the country office was her own kingdom, bringing in many kenyans, kenyans replaced by kenyans, spending money as if it was coming out of her pocket, recruiting as per her own procedures, removing francophones in the detriment of francophones while the country is 80% francophone."

 "Please investigate for the sake of justice. Don't be afraid by potential damaging findings."

 "But she cannot be alone in such practices, because it seems in WFP, country directors are so powerful that when reassigning international staff, they have the last word to accept or reject a candidate. Otherwise how can we have cases like the one of Haiti with a CD and a DCD from the same country while there many staffers struggling to get reassigned."