Kenya finds itself entangled in a huge tranche of recently unsealed files on American sex pest Jeffrey Epstein. “2 years ago we grabbed a person from Kenya with no brain, no heart, and no balls. We made him president of the United States and now the whole country is looking for work,” read an email sent to Epstein by one of his associates. This was in reference to the then US President Barack who is of Kenyan ancestry.
In another email Epstein scolded a girl for not being enthusiastic about his offer of sending her on a holiday to Kenya, while another document lists Kenya as a leading sex tourist destination stating, “Several countries have become preferred destinations for sex tourists. These include Thailand, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Dominica Republic, Costa Rica, Cuba and Kenya.”
The documents, most of which have attracted intense public fury, also shows how Epstein maintained and exploited a vast global network of high profile contacts. His private contact book that was recovered from his Palm Beach home, has a number of Kenyan contacts alongside big names such as President Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Britain’s ex-Prince Andrew, and former British prime minister Tony Blair.
US President Donald Trump gives a speech after signing the HALT Fentanyl Act at the White House in Washington, DC on July 16, 2025.
Photo credit: Reuters
They included addresses and telephone numbers of Muthaiga Club Nairobi, and Kuki Gallman, the Italian-born Kenyan author and conservationist. However, appearing in the address book does not necessarily implicate one in Epstein’s crimes.
The secret address book first emerged as evidence on June 6, 2024, during a civil suit against Epstein’s girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell who played a great role in procuring prostitutes and underage girls for him. She was the daughter of the late Robert Maxwell, who was the part-owner of Kenya Times newspaper, a joint venture with the Kenya African National Union (KANU). According to some sources it was Maxwell who introduced his daughter to Epstein in the same year he was acquiring a 45 per cent stake in the Kenya Times in 1988, while others claim they met through a mutual friend.
The death of the British media mogul, whose naked body was found in the Atlantic in 1991, triggered the collapse of his publishing empire. Although the inquest held in December 1991, ruled the cause of his death as heart attack combined with accidental drowning, Epstein claimed in one of the emails that the media tycoon was killed after he tried to blackmail Israeli spy agency Mossad.
On June 28, 2022 his daughter Ghislaine Maxwell, who was a regular visitor to Kenya, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse minors. The charges levelled against her involved grooming underage victims in multiple locations over a 10-year period.
The systematic grooming process often began with Epstein or Ghislaine cultivating a relationship with vulnerable girls or their families by promising to support their careers. They always targeted school students who were aspiring to be models or artists. Such was the case of two girls Epstein planned to send to Kenya for “a safari and internship.” One was the daughter of opera businesswoman Paula Hale, who had been Epstein’s girlfriend in the 1980s, before getting married elsewhere and becoming Paula Hale Fisher. However, she remained friends with Epstein who was now capitalizing on the friendship to start grooming her daughter under the guise of supporting her music career by connecting her to celebrities in the industry.
On April 10, 2009, Epstein instructed Paula to prepare her daughter, “Tommy and Steve Hendon will be at the office at ten. Put X (girl) in a sexy outfit and meet Tommy.” The following day he sent another email to Paula instructing, “Put a white button down shirt with white bra if X has it, hair ponytail see you soon.”
Ten days later, Epstein contacted the girl directly, “You should record your current voice and take photos of your current physique.” The second girl was the niece to Peggy Siegal, Hollywood publicist, whose close association with Epstein, brought her career tumbling down.
Jeffrey Epstein is seen in this image released by the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, on December 19, 2025.
Photo credit: Reuters
Although both Peggy and Paula were Epstein’s friends, they never knew each other. Around that time Epstein began making plans to send Peggy’s niece and Paula’s daughter to Kenya, which is mentioned in the documents as a leading sex destination. For this reason, on 19 April 2009, Epstein held a meeting with Peggy at his Palm Beach home and asked her to organise a meeting with Paula, so that they could get to know each other and discuss the Kenyan trip.
The following day Peggy emailed Paula, “Paula I am a friend of Jeffrey Epstein and he suggested we meet by email and or talk on the phone. As you know both girls are exactly the same age and ride. Jeffrey says if they like each other, he will send them both on an Equestrian safari in Kenya for part or all August. I was just in Palm Beach this weekend and visited him on Saturday. We discussed the trip a bit.”
Paula replied, “Greetings Peggy! I look forward to getting to know you! I don’t know any summer plans, but it all sounded exciting when Jeff mentioned making a girl mitzvah with X and Y (the girls). I’m leaving a message for X now to see what her plan is. Jeff’s offer is lovely and generous for these girls and I am so happy to make it happen! More when I catch up with X.”
Peggy and Paula finally met on 8 May 2009, after which Peggy notified Epstein, “I met Paula, she is gorgeous and smart and we laughed about the girls. You have excellent taste in superior people and beyond beautiful. We are having a meeting with the girls tomorrow … or trying. We both shared our total devotion to you and our desire to bring a bit of joy into your life.”
The holiday package included an internship at Borana, the third night at Ol Malo , one free night’s accommodation at Cottars and the possibility of another internship at Ol Donyo Wuas. Not surprisingly, Epstein wanted the two girls to send him photos during the trip to Kenya. This tactic was right out of Epstein’s playbook of grooming girls through incentives. However, the girls appeared not to be interested in the Kenyan trip, and had to be coerced into getting in touch with the travel agent.
Peggy would later email Epstein informing him how her niece was now considering not going on the trip. “(Y) finally surfaced when I sent ole’ scare tactic.” Girl X on the other hand remained evasive to the extent of ignoring Epstein’s calls. This resulted in Epstein complaining to his friend, Peggy, “Peggy I try to be fair. She can’t seem to find the time to return a call its bad behavior. I will not reward it.” On that same day Epstein emailed the girl reprimanding her, “Where are you and what are you doing? Explain why it has been so difficult for you to find time to concentrate on something that was only for your benefit. It makes little sense.”
The girl, fearing that Epstein could rescind his promise of supporting her music career, responded nervously on the same day, “Hey Jeff, I am thrilled beyond belief to be going on this trip to Kenya. Please don’t think I’m not.” The following day the girl again desperately reached out to Epstein, “Just sent Sandy (travel agent) email, she will be sending U an email shortly with itinerary, pictures and a list of what shots are needed. Xx” but an angry Epstein snapped at her, “So … for the future., I don’t care what you do, it’s your life, but don’t lie or bullshit me, this time, and only this time you are forgiven.”
Girl X eventually pulled out of the trip, leaving Peggy Siegal and her niece to travel to Kenya. On December 24,2009, they landed at a camp Maasai Mara where the entire Ralph Lauren clan had also landed for holidays. Although X never made the trip to Kenya, Epstein had already succeeded in enticing her in his network of victims. On a number of occasions Epstein, who was already a convicted sex offender, invited her to his Palm Beach home where he committed most of his abuses.
On October 3, in the run-up to the 2016 US election a lawsuit was filed in New York accusing Epstein and Donald Trump of abusing a minor in Manhattan. Two days later Lisa Svennson who was then serving as marine chief at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi wrote to her friend Epstein inviting him to visit her in Kenya, “Gave up on Swedish men, moved to Kenya. Wish me good luck. Come and visit.” The two had been flirting as early as 2012. With the 2016 elections fast approaching, Svennson advised Epstein, who was already a convicted sex offender, to prepare to flee the US, “If any president candidates win, you need to evacuate (sic).”
Around that time, according to UN internal correspondences, Svennson disappeared from her Nairobi work station under unclear circumstances and began working remotely from Europe. A complaint sent to UNEP Executive Director Erik Solheim by a staff member in 2018, read, “You, Sir, have approved that your friend, Lisa Svensson can work from Europe, because for personal reasons she does not wish to work in Nairobi. Her big office in Nairobi remains vacant…” That same year Erik Solheim was forced to resign as UNEP Executive Director by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for breaking internal rules. Epstein was arrested on July 6,2019 for sex trafficking of minors, and a month later committed suicide in his prison cell. That same year his friend Svensson quietly left her UNEP job.
Epstein files also reveal how entrepreneurs were desperate to partner with him to explore opportunities in Kenya. Boris Nikolic, the then advisor to Bill Gates, suggested investing in mobile money platforms. He offered to introduce him to the person who iinvented M-Pesa. Ernest Unik, an event organiser who also owns the Haiti based children’s charity Edeyo, shared with Epstein a list of his African contacts that included a State House official who was then serving as President Uhuru Kenyatta’s aide. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the CEO of the Dubai based logistics company DP World, offered to connect Epstein with the President. To prove how connected he was, he emailed Epstein a photo of him with the then minister for Foreign Affairs Amina Mohammed captioning it, “With Mrs. Amina president cabinate (sic) minister of Kenya.”
The documents confirm Kenya’s place as a playground for international wheeler-dealers, a secluded hideout for billionaires and celebrities, and a transit or destination country for sex trafficking.
