Kenya says it is surprised and shocked by reported comments about the country contained in leaked U.S. diplomatic memos.
The German magazine Der Spiegel says the cables depict Kenya as a "swamp of corruption."
Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua says that if the report is true, the comments are malicious and a total misrepresentation of Kenya and its leaders.
Mutua says the top U.S. diplomat for Africa, Johnnie Carson, called Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Monday to apologize for what is expected to come out. Mutua adds, however, that the U.S. has not detailed what the cables say or for what it is apologizing.
The more than 250,000 sensitive documents were released Sunday and reported on by several news organizations, including The New York Times and Britain's Guardian newspaper.
Kenya has been plagued by chronic and widespread corruption despite repeated government vows to deal with the problem. Last month, watchdog group Transparency International ranked Kenya as one of the world's most corrupt countries in its 2010 corruption perceptions index.
