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U.S. Ambassador Anthony D. Marshall has protested the highhanded treatment of the two Americans. Meanwhile, Saul and Miller are suing in Kenyan courts for recovery of their ruby mine. Few, however, believe that the case will be decided in the Americans' favor. Kenya is sticking to its claim that Saul was expelled because of gemstone and ivory smuggling.
So far, no stories about the big ruby rip-off have appeared in Kenya's press, and the government apparently wants to keep it that way. Without directly mentioning the ruby affair, the Foreign Ministry warned at week's end that it "will not tolerate any section of the press, whether local or overseas, which tends to discredit the image of Kenya abroad." Kenya is a one-party state, and President Kenyatta has already been declared re-elected to another five-year term for lack of opposition. Still, in the parliamentary elections next week, publicity about high-level hanky-panky over the ruby mine could tarnish the government's reputation in the eyes of Kenya's 12 million people.