WikiLeaks , the online media organization that is drip-feeding leaked U.S. diplomatic cables into the public domain, has published a document, identified as a communication from the U.S. embassy in Kenya, that details reactions to Chinese companies' business practices in Africa, with particular reference to Huawei.

There are a few things to note about this document, entitled "KENYA - DOING BUSINESS THE CHINESE WAY," which is marked as "Sensitive-but-unclassified."

Although it was published by WikiLeaks late on March 1, the document is dated Oct. 30, 2007, so is more than three years old. It also, in a series of "anecdotes," attributes comments to senior executives at African telecom operators, which are probably best treated as hearsay, as there is no absolute proof of their veracity.

That doesn't make them less interesting, though. Some are directly attributable to named individuals, the most notable of which is the series of comments allegedly made by Michael Joseph, the then-CEO (and currently non-executive board member) of Kenya's leading mobile operator Safaricom Ltd. , to U.S. Mission staff on Oct. 18, 2007:

The cable goes on to cite Joseph as saying he was put under pressure by Kenyan government officials to reinstate the contract with Huawei.

It would appear that any doubts harbored by Joseph, who recently stepped down after 10 years as Safaricom CEO, about Huawei's ability to deliver on its promises were soon assuaged. Following the initial transmission of the U.S. diplomatic cable from the embassy in Nairobi in late 2007, and during Joseph's tenure as CEO, Safaricom continued to award deals to the Chinese vendor. In 2010 Huawei was awarded softswitch and convergent billing system deals by the Kenyan operator, while Joseph agreed to a trial of Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology only months ago, reports IT News Africa. (See Safaricom Bills With Huawei and Safaricom Deploys Huawei Softswitch.)

The document published by WikiLeaks also suggests that the country's state-owned operator, Telkom Kenya , awarded Huawei a CDMA contract without issuing a competitive tender, a process that should have been undertaken by law. The then-CEO of Telekom Kenya, Sammy Kirui, is also cited as suggesting that after-sales service from Chinese technology suppliers was poor. He also allegedly noted that ZTE was pressing hard to be an alternative supplier, but that he was insisting "the company's second strategic tech partner must be non-Chinese."

ZTE did, though, land an optical equipment contract awarded by the Kenyan government. (See ZTE Wins in Kenya.)

The cable concludes:

The full cable can be read here.

ZTE declined to comment "on what are effectively unfounded rumors from unproven sources."

Huawei is currently preparing a response. Safaricom has yet to respond to Light Reading requests for comment.

The publication of the document on WikiLeaks comes at a sensitive time for Huawei, which is seeking to build trust and credibility in the U.S. market as well as counter suggestions of anti-competitive trading practices in Europe. (See Huawei's Open Letter to the US, Huawei's Rep Repair, Court Finds for Huawei vs Moto and Sino-Euro War of Words.)

— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading