Kofi Annan arrived Tuesday eveing in the Kenyan Capital, Nairobi in efforts to find a lasting solution to the bloody ethnic-political crises that has crippled the country since the general elections of 27th December 2007. The intervention of the former UN secretary general comes amid continuing bloodshed which has led the opposition to file a complaint with the International Criminal court against president Mwai Kibaki.
Kofi Annan arrived Tuesday eveing in the Kenyan Capital, Nairobi in efforts to find a lasting solution to the bloody ethnic-political crises that has crippled the country since the general elections of 27th December 2007. The intervention of the former UN secretary general comes amid continuing bloodshed which has led the opposition to file a complaint with the International Criminal court against president Mwai Kibaki.
After the Ghana Head of State and Head of the African Union, John Kuffuor, it is the turn of his compatriot Kofi Annan to mediate in the crises that has crippled Kenya since the disputed elections of December 27, 2007. Upon his arrival in Kenya Tuesday evening, the ex UN secretary General said he “will seek to meet and bring President Kibaki and Mr Raila Odinga together and urge them to seize the opportunity to end suffering and uncertainty that has plagued Kenya,”. His team is made up of several former African leaders. “We are here to listen, to learn and to work with concerned parties to find a just and sustainable solution” he contunued.
Complaint filed for crimes against humanity
It will be an arduous task for a simple reason ; both Messrs Kibaki and Odinga from the PNU and ODM parties, respectively, do not seem change their positions. In an interview with the Kenyan daily, The Standard, the vice-president said that the committee for dialogue and not « negotiation » that he heads has among other things the aim to « promote national dialogue and reconciliation ». Kalonzo Musyoka on the other hand stated that sharing power with those he considers as losers of the elections is out of the question.
On its side, ODM has filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands. Among those they accuse are, the president, ministers and the Heads of Police. The complaint also accuses them of crimes against humanity, supporting terrorist acts targetting parts of the population. ODM strongly believes that the violent acts in the west of the country, an Odinga stronghold had been planned. The authorities have denied these claims, saying that the police reacted in the face of ethnic violence that supporters of Odinga, one Luo, had perpetrated against Kikuyus, the presidents ethnic group.
The World Bank is worried
Things seem to have been put on hold for now. Lots of people have been killed in the west of the country since the begining of the week. Four people died when they were caught in a fire in their homes while four more died of machete wounds, confirmed a police chief cited by AFP. An official report that was made public on Tuesday puts the death toll at 685 against 1000 and over by the opposition’s estimation.
The World Bank and the African Development Bank expressed their worry in a joint communiqué : “The current situation could drive two million Kenyans into poverty, reversing the gains made over the last few years… Business confidence is being undermined.” It also stated that they wish to continue working with the people of Kenya “…but it is difficult to do so effectively in an environment of instability”.
An instability that will continue until Kenya learns the truth and justice done… Nobel Peace Prize Wangari Maathai.
