Kofi Annan ‘livid’ after hotel room bugged

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Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is not a happy camper right now. Tuesday night, his security aides are said to have found bugging devices in his room at Nairobi’s Serena Hotel. A source describes Annan as “livid.”

Annan has been in Kenya since Jan. 15, involved in peace talks to arrive at a resolution and quell violence after December’s disputed election. Now that he has discovered that his official and personal communications were being spied on, it’s unknown whether he’ll continue with the already strained talks.

This isn’t the first time U.N.-linked officials are said to have been bugged. In 2004, former British Cabinet Minister Clare Short accused British spies of recording phone calls made from Annan’s U.N. office. Hans Blix, who inspected Iraq for weapons of mass destruction in the run-up to the war there, similarly accused Britain and the United States of bugging his mobile phone, his U.N. office, and his New York home.

As for Annan, perhaps he should head to the Serena Hotel’s spa for an “Elemis Skin IQ” facial, described as “ideal for stressed challenged skin.”