Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the powerful chairman and CEO of Dubai’s DP World, has stepped down with immediate effect after the release of over 3.5 million pages of files exposed his close relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and raised uncomfortable questions about how the logistics giant secured lucrative East African port deals.
The resignation on Friday comes weeks after US Department of Justice documents revealed Sulayem boasted to Epstein about his access to African presidents, including Kenya’s former President Uhuru Kenyatta, just months before DP World began its aggressive expansion across the continent.
DP World announced that Essa Kazim, previously Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre, would take over as chairman while Yuvraj Narayan, the company’s deputy CEO and CFO since 2005, becomes Group Chief Executive Officer.
The company made no mention of the Epstein scandal in its terse statement, saying only that the appointments “support its strategy for sustainable growth and reinforce its role in strengthening global supply chains.”
However, the timing of Sulayem’s departure leaves little doubt about the pressure that mounted after major international partners threatened to freeze billions in investments unless DP World took action.
Canada’s second-largest pension fund, La Caisse, which has invested more than $5 billion alongside DP World over the past decade, announced this week it would pause “additional capital deployment” with the company. British International Investment, which partners with DP World on four African ports, followed suit.
The Epstein files paint a disturbing portrait of Sulayem’s decade-long friendship with the disgraced financier, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Between 2007 and 2018, the two exchanged what investigators describe as hundreds of emails covering business matters, sexual encounters, escort services and pornography. Photographs released by House Democrats show Epstein cooking with Sulayem, suggesting an intimacy that went beyond professional acquaintance.
In one particularly troubling 2017 exchange, Sulayem helped arrange for a Russian “masseuse” from Epstein’s “private spa” to train at a Turkish hotel. During Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2022 trial, multiple witnesses testified that Epstein used massages as a cover to sexually exploit young girls.
The files also reveal Sulayem repeatedly asked to visit Epstein’s private island, Little St. James, where victims testified they were trafficked and abused. In December 2014, years after Epstein’s first conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor, Sulayem wrote asking for updates on spending Christmas at the island.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem with Jeffrey Epstein.
But it is the Africa connection that has sent shockwaves through diplomatic and business circles in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
In April 2013, Sulayem emailed Epstein to inform him he was attending President Kenyatta’s inauguration, writing: “I am in Nairobi for the inauguration of Uhuru Kenyatta as president of Kenya, whom I know very well.”
Just over a year later, in October 2014, Sulayem updated Epstein about a three-hour meeting with Kenyatta in Mombasa to discuss building a massive logistics hub to serve Kenya and its landlocked neighbours.
Within months, DP World began its East African expansion. In March 2022, Kenya’s Finance Ministry entered into a controversial concession giving DP World rights to operate berths at Mombasa, Lamu and Kisumu ports.
The deal, which emerged after Kenyatta’s February 2022 visit to the UAE, sparked fierce political backlash. Kenya Kwanza Coalition leaders accused Kenyatta of secretly auctioning national assets. The letter requesting DP World’s proposal was addressed directly to Sulayem.
Although the Kenya deal ultimately collapsed amid election-year politics, DP World’s appetite for East African ports did not wane.
In October 2023, the company signed a 30-year concession to operate four berths at Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam Port, committing an initial $250 million that could grow to $1 billion. The deal, which took effect in April 2024, grants DP World control over one of the continent’s busiest maritime gateways.
There is no evidence that President Kenyatta or other African leaders had any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein’s crimes. Being mentioned in correspondence does not imply criminal wrongdoing.
Sulayem himself has not been charged with any crime. However, the revelations have permanently damaged his reputation and raised troubling questions about the due diligence conducted by East African governments before handing control of strategic national assets to a company led by a man who maintained such close ties to a convicted sex offender.
The Epstein files also reference Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania and Senegal in darker contexts. Documents describe coastal towns like Malindi as areas frequented by individuals involved in paedophile activity, with Tanzania identified as a transit point in alleged trafficking operations.
Newly released emails detail planning for 2009 trips to Kenya involving young women, with Epstein pledging $13,000 per girl for “safari and internship.” In May 2011, American publicist Peggy Siegal emailed Epstein that a girl “is finally turning legal.”
Children from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan and Somalia were reportedly trafficked through Mombasa, the very port where DP World sought control and where Sulayem met Kenyatta to discuss regional logistics infrastructure.
DP World now controls ports and logistics centres across nine African countries, including Algeria, Angola, Djibouti, Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa, as well as Somaliland.
The company’s expansion has been marked by long-term concessions spanning 20 to 30 years, granting extraordinary control over critical trade infrastructure. In Senegal, DP World is constructing a $1.1 billion deepwater port at Ndayane under a 25-year concession. In Angola, it secured a 20-year concession for Luanda port’s multipurpose terminal.
Critics have long warned that such deals threaten national sovereignty. In Djibouti, the government nationalised the Doraleh Container Terminal in 2018, terminating DP World’s 30-year concession amid accusations of unfair contract terms.
In Tanzania, activist Maria Tsehai told The Africa Report in 2023 that the DP World agreement contained “clauses that were blatantly one-sided in favour of the Dubai government.”
As Kenya contemplates relaunching its port concessions and Tanzania deepens its partnership with DP World, the shadow of Jeffrey Epstein now looms over every contract.
The question facing East African governments is whether they conducted adequate background checks before handing control of strategic assets to a company led by a man so deeply enmeshed with a convicted paedophile.
Sulayem’s departure may close one chapter, but it opens another: will African nations demand better scrutiny of those who seek control over their critical infrastructure, or will the pursuit of foreign investment continue to trump considerations of character and judgment?
Nairobi, Kenya — Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite serving 20 years in prison for sex trafficking minors alongside billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, was a regular visitor to Kenya, newly unsealed court documents have revealed in a bombshell expose that has sent shockwaves through the country’s elite circles.
The damning files, released following civil litigation against Maxwell, paint a disturbing picture of how Kenya became entangled in one of the world’s most notorious sex trafficking operations, with the East African nation featured prominently in Epstein’s private address book and identified as a key destination in his global network of abuse.
Maxwell, daughter of the late Robert Maxwell who owned a 45 percent stake in the now-defunct Kenya Times newspaper through a joint venture with KANU, leveraged her family’s Kenyan connections to establish a foothold in the country that prosecutors say facilitated her criminal enterprise.
The secret address book recovered from Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion contains multiple Kenyan contacts, including the prestigious Muthaiga Club in Nairobi and Italian-born Kenyan conservationist Kuki Gallmann.
While appearing in the address book does not necessarily implicate individuals in criminal activity, investigators say it demonstrates the sprawling reach of Epstein’s network across continents.
Court documents reveal that Kenya was specifically listed as a leading sex tourism destination alongside Thailand, Brazil, Sri Lanka, and Costa Rica in materials found in Epstein’s possession.
The designation raises troubling questions about why the convicted sex offender maintained such keen interest in the country.
In a particularly chilling example, emails presented as evidence show how Epstein in 2009 orchestrated plans to send two teenage girls to Kenya under the guise of an equestrian safari and wildlife conservation internships. The elaborate scheme involved properties at Borana, Ol Malo, Cottars, and Ol Donyo Wuas, with Epstein insisting the girls send him photographs during their stay.
The proposed trip followed Epstein’s established pattern of grooming vulnerable minors by offering career support and exotic travel opportunities.
When one of the intended victims showed reluctance about the Kenya excursion, Epstein sent angry emails berating her, demonstrating the psychological manipulation central to his criminal operation.
“Hey Jeff, I am thrilled beyond belief to be going on this trip to Kenya. Please don’t think I’m not,” the frightened teenager wrote back, desperately trying to appease the billionaire predator who had promised to support her music career. Epstein’s cold response came swiftly: “So, for the future, I don’t care what you do, it’s your life, but don’t lie or bullshit me.”
Ultimately, one girl withdrew from the trip, but Hollywood publicist Peggy Siegal and her niece travelled to Kenya in December 2009, landing at a camp in Maasai Mara where they encountered members of the Ralph Lauren family also on holiday.
The coincidence underscores how Kenya’s luxury safari industry became unwittingly intertwined with Epstein’s web of exploitation.
Maxwell’s frequent visits to Kenya take on sinister new meaning in light of her June 2022 conviction for grooming underage victims across multiple locations over a decade-long period.
Prosecutors established that Maxwell and Epstein systematically targeted school students aspiring to careers in modelling or the arts, promising mentorship while delivering abuse.
The Kenya connection runs deeper through Maxwell’s family history. Her father, British media mogul Robert Maxwell, acquired his stake in Kenya Times in 1988, the same year some sources claim he introduced his daughter to Epstein.
Others suggest the pair met through mutual friends, but the timing of the business venture and their relationship remains striking.
Robert Maxwell’s mysterious death in 1991, when his naked body was found in the Atlantic Ocean, triggered the collapse of his publishing empire.
While an inquest ruled heart attack and accidental drowning, Epstein himself claimed in emails that Maxwell was killed after attempting to blackmail Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, adding another layer of intrigue to the family’s murky dealings.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
The newly released documents expose how international power brokers sought to exploit Epstein’s interest in Kenya for business opportunities.
Boris Nikolic, then advisor to Bill Gates, suggested investing in mobile money platforms and offered to introduce Epstein to the inventor of M-Pesa. Ernest Unik, an events organiser who runs the Haiti-based children’s charity Edeyo, shared contacts including a State House official serving as an aide to then President Uhuru Kenyatta.
As proof of his access, he emailed Epstein a photograph with then Foreign Affairs Minister Amina Mohammed, writing: “With Mrs. Amina president cabinate minister of Kenya.”
Perhaps most disturbing is the revelation that a senior United Nations official based in Nairobi cultivated a relationship with Epstein that raised serious ethical questions.
Lisa Svensson, who served as marine chief at the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi, exchanged flirtatious messages with the convicted sex offender from 2012 onwards.
In October 2016, as a lawsuit accusing Epstein and Donald Trump of abusing a minor was filed in New York, Svensson invited Epstein to visit her in Kenya. “Gave up on Swedish men, moved to Kenya. Wish me good luck. Come and visit,” she wrote.
Days later, with the US presidential election approaching, she advised the registered sex offender: “If any president candidates win, you need to evacuate.”
Internal UN correspondence shows Svensson disappeared from her Nairobi workstation under unclear circumstances around this time, working remotely from Europe instead.
A 2018 complaint to UNEP Executive Director Erik Solheim 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.”
Solheim himself was forced to resign later that year for breaking internal rules.
When Epstein was arrested in July 2019 for sex trafficking of minors, Svensson quietly left her UNEP position, raising questions about whether her departure was connected to her association with the disgraced financier. Epstein died by suicide in his prison cell one month after his arrest.
The revelations confirm Kenya’s troubling status as what investigators describe as a playground for international wheeler-dealers, a secluded hideout for billionaires and celebrities, and crucially, a transit or destination country for sex trafficking operations.
Separate documents link Kenya and Tanzania to an alleged trafficking network, with children from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia and other parts of Eastern Africa reportedly trafficked through Mombasa port.
The convergence of luxury tourism infrastructure, weak regulatory oversight, and powerful international connections created conditions that predators like Epstein and Maxwell exploited.
Kenyan authorities have yet to issue an official statement addressing the damning revelations or indicating whether local investigations will be launched into the activities described in the court documents.
Legal experts say the statute of limitations and jurisdictional complexities may complicate any potential prosecutions, but victims’ advocates are demanding accountability.
“These files expose Kenya as more than just a picturesque safari destination in Epstein’s world. It was a deliberate choice, a place where powerful people believed they could operate with impunity,” said one international trafficking expert who requested anonymity.
“The question now is whether Kenyan authorities will take seriously their obligation to investigate and prevent such exploitation on their soil.”
The Maxwell family’s business interests in Kenya, combined with Ghislaine’s regular visits and Epstein’s cultivation of high-level contacts, paint a picture of systematic relationship-building that went far beyond casual tourism.
These were calculated moves by sophisticated criminals who understood how to leverage social capital and geographic distance to further their predatory aims.
As more documents continue to emerge from ongoing litigation, the full extent of Kenya’s entanglement in the Epstein-Maxwell trafficking network remains to be seen.
What is already clear is that the country’s reputation as a premier destination has been irrevocably tainted by its association with two of the world’s most reviled sex offenders.
For the young women and girls who were targeted, groomed, and in many cases abused, Kenya represents not adventure and wildlife, but rather another location where their trauma unfolded.
The luxury lodges and exclusive clubs that dot the landscape now carry the shadow of having potentially facilitated one of history’s most extensive child exploitation operations.
The international community watches as Kenya grapples with its unwitting role in this global scandal, wondering whether the revelations will spur meaningful reform in how the country monitors and regulates the movements of high-risk individuals, or whether the powerful connections exposed in these files will ensure that uncomfortable questions remain unanswered.
The release of over 3.5 million pages of documents related to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has exposed a troubling pattern linking Dubai’s logistics titan DP World to the disgraced financier through its chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, raising uncomfortable questions about how the company secured lucrative port deals across East Africa just months after Sulayem boasted to Epstein about his access to African presidents.
The documents reveal that in April 2013, Sulayem emailed Epstein to inform him he was attending the inauguration of then President Uhuru Kenyatta, writing, “I am in Nairobi for the inauguration of Uhuru Kenyatta as president of Kenya, whom I know very well.” Epstein replied three hours later asking, “Any plans for NY?” The casual exchange suggests a relationship where access to heads of state was currency worth trading.
Just over a year later, in October 2014, Sulayem updated Epstein about a three-hour meeting he had with President Kenyatta in Mombasa.
The discussion centred on plans to build what Sulayem described as a massive logistics hub to serve Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda, the Central African Republic and Rwanda.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Within months of these communications, DP World began aggressive expansion across East Africa, securing deals that critics say lacked transparency and proper public participation.
The timing raises troubling questions.
In March 2022, Kenya’s Finance Ministry entered into a controversial concession with DP World, giving the Dubai-based firm rights to operate berths at Mombasa, Lamu and Kisumu ports.
The deal, which emerged after President Kenyatta’s February 2022 visit to the UAE, sparked fierce political backlash.
Kenya Kwanza Coalition leaders accused Kenyatta of secretly auctioning national assets, with claims the agreement was sealed during what was publicly billed as opposition leader Raila Odinga’s birthday party in Mombasa.
The letter requesting DP World’s proposal was addressed directly to Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the same man who had spent years cultivating a relationship with one of history’s most notorious paedophiles.
Although the Kenya deal ultimately collapsed amid election-year politics, DP World’s appetite for East African ports did not wane.
In October 2023, DP World signed a 30-year concession to operate four berths at Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam Port, committing an initial $250 million that could grow to $1 billion.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem himself described the agreement as “a milestone in enhancing the supply chain infrastructure in East Africa.”
The deal, which took effect in April 2024, grants DP World control over one of the continent’s busiest maritime gateways, handling cargo for Tanzania and landlocked neighbours including Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, DRC and Zambia.
The Epstein files paint a disturbing portrait of Sulayem’s character and his relationship with the convicted sex offender.
Between 2007 and 2018, the two exchanged what investigators describe as “dozens, if not hundreds” of emails covering everything from business matters to deeply personal exchanges.
Photos released by House Democrats show Epstein cooking with Sulayem, suggesting an intimacy that went far beyond professional acquaintance.
In one particularly chilling exchange from 2017, Sulayem helped arrange for a Russian “masseuse” from Epstein’s “private spa” to train at the Rixos hotel in Antalya, Turkey, so she could “gain better experiences.”
Epstein wrote that he wanted her to “learn as much as she can, all treatments etc.” During Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2022 trial, multiple witnesses testified that Epstein used the guise of “massages” to sexually exploit young girls at his properties.
The masseuse’s passport details were redacted in the DoJ files, her age unknown.
Other emails reveal Sulayem repeatedly asking Epstein if he could visit his private island, Little St. James, where victims testified they were trafficked and abused.
“Dear Jeffery, Any update on the Christmas at your island I need to plan my travel,” Sulayem wrote in December 2014. This was years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
In August 2015, Sulayem sent Epstein a link to a pornography website during a series of text messages.
In another 2016 exchange, Epstein wrote to Sulayem: “no girl in dubai is safe tonite.” The context remains unclear, but the casual depravity is unmistakable.
The relationship extended to political access. In January 2017, days before Donald Trump’s first inauguration, Sulayem asked Epstein whether he should attend and “Do you think it will be possible to shake hand with trump?” Epstein advised him on the matter.
In 2015, Sulayem asked Epstein to introduce him to Elon Musk to discuss using Tesla batteries for a Dubai hotel project. Two years later, Musk and Sulayem led a discussion in Dubai.
Epstein also facilitated Sulayem’s attempts to recruit British politician Lord Peter Mandelson to DP World’s board in 2014.
Mandelson, who served in Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s cabinets and later became Donald Trump’s ambassador to Washington before being sacked over his Epstein ties, initially agreed before raising concerns about DP World’s parent company, Dubai World, being “overleveraged.” Epstein reassured him it was “awash in cash flow.”
Investigative reporting also reveals that Epstein used Sulayem’s name as a front to purchase Great St. James, an island near Little St. James in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Documents made it appear that Sulayem was the buyer paying roughly $22.5 million, when in reality the beneficial owner was Epstein himself.
This arrangement allowed Epstein to mask his expanding island empire behind the credibility of a wealthy Gulf businessman.
The Africa connection runs deeper than Kenya and Tanzania.
DP World now operates ports and logistics centres across at least nine African countries, including Algeria, Angola, Djibouti, Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa, as well as the breakaway region of Somaliland.
The company’s expansion has been marked by long-term concessions, often spanning 20 to 30 years, granting DP World extraordinary control over critical trade infrastructure.
In Senegal, DP World is constructing a $1.1 billion deepwater port at Ndayane, 50 kilometres south of Dakar, which it will control for 25 years.
In Angola, the company secured a 20-year concession for the multipurpose terminal at Luanda port.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, DP World is developing a $1.2 billion deep-sea port at Banana, expected to be completed by 2025. In Mozambique, DP World operates the Maputo container terminal and launched the first dedicated container train service to Zimbabwe.
The pattern is consistent: DP World arrives in African nations promising modernisation and investment, secures decades-long concessions over strategic assets, and tightens Dubai’s grip on continental trade routes.
The company’s expansion aligns with broader UAE geopolitical strategy, with sister firm AD Ports Group similarly expanding across Tanzania, Congo and Egypt.
Yet DP World’s Africa ventures have been plagued by controversy.
In Djibouti, the government nationalised the Doraleh Container Terminal in 2018, terminating DP World’s 30-year concession amid accusations of unfair contract terms.
The move escalated into a bitter legal battle, with a Hong Kong appeals court ordering Djibouti to pay DP World over $600 million in damages. The crisis deepened after the UAE signed a deal to upgrade Somaliland’s Berbera port, positioning a rival facility on Djibouti’s doorstep.
In Tanzania, the DP World concession sparked fierce opposition from activists, religious leaders and opposition politicians who warned it threatened national sovereignty.
“The agreement was shocking as it entailed clauses that were blatantly one-sided in favour of the Dubai government and its state-owned enterprise Dubai Port World,” activist Maria Tsehai told The Africa Report in 2023. President Samia Suluhu Hassan pushed the deal through despite the backlash.
The Epstein files also reveal discussions between Sulayem and the sex offender about exploiting Somaliland’s economic potential.
In April 2018, Sulayem sent Epstein a document titled “The recognition of Somaliland – a brief history.” Earlier emails from associates explored water exports from Berbera and financial services opportunities, with one sender noting the potential to profit from remittance services if Barclays halted money transfers to the region.
Other African locations appear in the Epstein files in more sinister contexts.
The documents reference Kenya and Somalia as locations flagged for paedophile activity, with Tanzania and Senegal identified as transit points in alleged trafficking operations.
Coastal towns like Malindi in Kenya are described as areas frequented by individuals involved in such activity.
Luxury destinations such as Mnemba Island in Tanzania were reportedly visited by members of Epstein’s circle.
Newly released emails detail planning for 2009 trips to Kenya involving young women.
In one exchange, American publicist Peggy Siegal joked to Epstein about travelling from Amsterdam: “If the Maasai warriors don’t eat us, the pirates from Somalia will.”
Between April and June 2009, correspondence shows Epstein and Siegal discussed transporting two girls to Kenya, with Epstein pledging $13,000 per girl for “safari and internship.” He referenced his knowledge of accommodation flexibility at venues Siegal had chosen.
In May 2011, Siegal emailed that a girl, whose name was redacted, “is finally turning legal.” Earlier that month she told Epstein the girls were “kissing the ground you walk on and the African plains the girls are about to ride on.”
In one excerpt presented as a “joke,” a sender wrote to Epstein about “bringing a little baby back… or two… boys or girls” from Kenya.
The documents allege that Epstein’s estate was in the process of opening a film studio in Somaliland, possibly to lure young actors into his network.
He reportedly wanted to establish a commercial bank in Somalia.
Files suggest some non-governmental organisations and modelling agencies in Africa facilitated or participated in activities consistent with human trafficking.
Children from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia and other parts of Eastern Africa were reportedly trafficked through Mombasa, the very port where DP World sought control and where Sulayem met with President Kenyatta to discuss regional logistics infrastructure.
Experts caution that mention of countries in the Epstein documents does not constitute proof of wrongdoing by government officials. No evidence directly links President Kenyatta or other African leaders to Epstein’s crimes. Being photographed with Epstein at public events or appearing in correspondence does not imply criminal involvement.
President Kenyatta’s connection to the files stems entirely from Sulayem’s emails about attending his inauguration and discussing port development.
Similarly, there is no public record that Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem has been charged with or formally investigated for Epstein’s crimes.
DP World declined to comment on the revelations.
Yet the company’s chairman maintained a close personal friendship with a convicted paedophile for over a decade, exchanged hundreds of emails with him, facilitated his masseuse’s training, sought invitations to his private island where abuse occurred, and shared pornographic content with him, all while leveraging Epstein’s network to access political power and business opportunities.
The question now facing East African governments is whether they conducted adequate due diligence before handing control of strategic national assets to a company led by a man so deeply enmeshed with Jeffrey Epstein.
Did Kenyan and Tanzanian officials know about Sulayem’s relationship with the convicted sex offender when they negotiated port concessions? Were background checks conducted? What safeguards exist to prevent individuals with such associations from gaining control over critical infrastructure?
In Kenya, the DP World deal collapsed amid political opposition, though speculation persists that the company may re-emerge as a contender as the government quietly relaunches port concessions.
In Tanzania, DP World is already operational, with the government touting reduced ship turnaround times and increased revenue while critics warn of sovereignty erosion.
DP World now controls a vast network of African ports stretching from the Red Sea to the Atlantic, from Djibouti and Somaliland down through Mozambique and across to Senegal and Angola.
The company, ultimately owned by Dubai’s ruling family through Dubai World and chaired by the emirate’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, wields enormous influence over continental trade flows.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, born into one of Dubai’s most prominent political families and positioned since birth with access to the UAE’s ruling elite, has built an empire by securing long-term concessions over strategic infrastructure in developing nations.
His relationship with Jeffrey Epstein suggests he was willing to maintain close personal ties with a known sex offender, facilitate the training of women from Epstein’s “private spa,” and seek invitations to an island where children were abused, all while presenting himself as a legitimate businessman worthy of trust from African governments.
The Epstein files have exposed more than a paedophile’s network.
They have revealed the casual intermingling of wealth, political access and depravity at the highest levels of global commerce.
They have shown how men like Sulayem leveraged relationships with criminals to enhance their own power and reach.
And they have raised urgent questions about how such individuals were granted control over East Africa’s maritime gateways while their character remained unexamined.
As Kenya contemplates relaunching its port concessions and Tanzania deepens its partnership with DP World, the shadow of Jeffrey Epstein looms over every contract, every promise of investment, every assurance of modernisation.
The documents released by the US Department of Justice force a reckoning: are African nations so desperate for foreign investment that they will hand strategic assets to companies led by men who counted paedophiles among their closest friends?
The ports of Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Lamu and others are more than economic infrastructure.
They are gateways to the continent, arteries through which trade flows, symbols of sovereignty and development.
The decision of whom to entrust with their operation cannot be made lightly, cannot ignore character, cannot overlook associations that speak to judgment and values.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem may never be charged with a crime. DP World may deliver on its promises of efficiency and investment.
But the Epstein files have permanently stained both, raising questions that demand answers before any government hands this company control over another inch of African soil.
