Egyptian Minister Calls Sub-Saharan Africans “Dogs and Slaves”

Egypt's deputy Minister for Environment called Sub-Saharan Africans “dogs and slaves” in Arabic at a UN conference in Nairobi. His fellow African representatives say his comments have eroded gains made in fostering unity among nations on the continent.


Kenyan diplomat Yvonne Khamati accused the unnamed official of making the comments at an environmental conference held in Nairobi last week.

Ms Khamati wrote a memo asking that Egypt apologize to Africa, and recommending that Egypt no longer represent African interests at an official level.

Comments by a senior Egyptian official at a United Nations Environmental Assembly meeting in Nairobi last week have sparked a diplomatic furor. It has emerged that when a disagreement arose among the member states over a resolution on Gaza, Egypt’s Deputy Minister for Environment got so worked up he referred to Sub-Saharan Africans as “dogs and slaves” in Arabic.

Khamati told Kenyan news site Capital FM that though the minister made the comments in Arabic, members of the African delegation who heard them understood the vile reference because they had served in Arab speaking countries.