Kenya slammed over Ramaphosa
2008-02-05 16:58
Pretoria - The South African government on Tuesday lashed out at the Kenyan government for its rejection of Cyril Ramaphosa as mediator in Kenya's crisis talks.
"South African government strongly rejects the erroneous argument by the government that Mr Ramaphosa could not be an honest broker.
"The reasons given by the goverment are rejected with the contempt they deserve," said deputy foreign affairs minister Aziz Pahad on Tuesday.
Ramaphosa on Monday withdrew as chief mediator in crisis talks in Kenya. According to reports the Kenyan government suggested he was biased in favour of the opposition, something he denied.
He was appointed by former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan and only arrived in Nairobi on Friday.
Kenya has undergone weeks of turmoil following flawed elections.
About 1 000 people have died dead and over a quarter of a million have been displaced.
- SAPA