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Kufour begins bid to end crisis
09/01/2008 10:21 - (SA)
Bogonko Bosire
Nairobi - African Union chief John Kufuor sought on Wednesday to mediate an end to a growing political crisis in Kenya after disputed presidential polls that sparked violence, leaving at least 600 dead.
The Ghanaian president faced the tough task of trying to bring together re-elected President Mwai Kibaki and opposition chief Raila Odinga, the man who claimed he was robbed of victory in the polls 11 days ago.
Odinga was refusing to recognise Kibaki's legitimacy, alleging widespread fraud in the polls, which European Union observers said had fallen short of international standards amid claims of a rigged vote count.
Kufuor, who was due to meet top United States Africa envoy Jendayi Frazer early on Wednesday, faced even more of an uphill task after a defiant Kibaki unveiled a partial cabinet, which Odinga palmed off as a "gimmick".
Situation 'getting desperate'
A US diplomat said: "Kufuor faces a real crisis. Kibaki has just moved to block peace talks by naming is cabinet." He was speaking after the president made the cabinet announcement on Tuesday, just before Kufuor's arrival.
A British diplomat agreed: "The situation is indeed getting desperate and it's up to Kufuor to defuse it now. How he will do it is unclear because, by naming the cabinet, the government told him, thanks for coming, but no mediation please."
Kibaki and Odinga had jousted with various proposals that might allow them to talk for the first time since poll-related violence erupted leaving 600 dead and 250 000 displaced.
The president had extended an invitation to his rival for face-to-face talks on Friday, but Odinga rejected the offer, saying he would only meet with Kufuor's mediation.
Kibaki 'unwilling to negotiate way out'
Odinga said: "I have said we are going to meet under the chairmanship of Mr John Kufuor (on Wednesday) and I have said that the Friday thing is a sideshow to try to distract attention from the very serious efforts that are being made to resolve the crisis."
Kibaki briefly met Kufuor on Tuesday at the airport after naming part of his new cabinet in a televised address.
Moments later, Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) charged that the cabinet announcement showed the president's unwillingness to negotiate a way out of the crisis triggered by the December 27 presidential elections.
"The whole thing is a gimmick, the cabinet is a joke. We do not recognise the president and therefore we won't recognise his cabinet," said ODM secretary-general Anyang Nyongo.
The cabinet announcement set off protests in the western city and ODM stronghold of Kisumu, where police said officers fired into the air to disperse up to 300 young demonstrators who had blocked a road with bonfires.
The protests took place at the entrance to slums surrounding Kisumu city, a scene of recent deadly riots.
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