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Kenya seeks Africa's backing
06/01/2008 21:46 - (SA)
Nairobi - The Kenyan government has dispatched envoys to African countries to explain the prevailing security situation and seek backing from other leaders, officials said on Sunday.
Riots rocked Kenya after President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of hotly contested December 27 elections, killing more than 360 people and displacing about 250 000. Opposition leader Raila Odinga has refused to accept defeat, insisting the voting was rigged.
"We have sent envoys to African countries with a special message to leaders that presents a clear picture of the political and security situation in the country," government spokesperson Alfred Mutua told reporters.
He said that deputy foreign minister Moses Wetangula had travelled to Ghana to explain "the political and electoral situation in the country and that we are able to deal with criminals," to African Union leader and Ghanian President John Kufour.
Gordon Brown backs talks
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the BBC on Sunday that Kufuor was expected in Kenya in the next two days to take part in efforts to talk the rivals out of the political stalemate.
Meanwhile in Dar es Salaam, Kibaki's special envoy Uhuru Kenyatta delivered a message on Sunday, an official said.
"We want violence to end in Kenya. Leaders should immediately start talks aimed at reconciliation and the way forward," State House Director of Communications Salva Rweyemamu said.
A government official, who requested anonymity, told AFP Kibaki was seeking backing from African leaders in the face of condemnation from Western nations that have highlighted irregularities in the poll counting process.
The international community has stepped up diplomatic pressure to settle the conflict in the east African nation, which until recently was considered a bastion of stability in a region beset by conflict.
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