Kenya's Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed. The Ministry of
Foreign Affairs has rejected a political mediation proposal by the
African Union. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
An attempt by the African Union to broker a political deal
between President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga has
been scuttled, forcing the continental body to send only hapless
election observers.
It has now emerged that AU
Commissioner for Political Affairs Minata Samata had proposed to the
Kenyan government a team of African leaders led by former Namibian
president Hifikepunye Pohamba to spearhead talks between the
protagonists before the repeat election, but the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs rejected the proposal.
According to sources,
the ministry told the continental body that there was no crisis in Kenya
that needed an intervention as that proposed by Ms Samata.
The
Kenyan government further informed Ms Samata that only six people had
died as a result of the violent post-August 8 protests experienced in
parts of the country mainly Kisumu, Siaya, Migori and Homa Bay counties
and the Kibera and Mathare slums in Nairobi.
Attempts
to get a comment from the ministry proved futile as only Cabinet
Secretary Amina Mohamed is allowed to comment on such matters.
However,
the AU observer mission, which now the continental body relies on to
give a clear picture of the situation in Kenya, has given the October 26
repeat polls a clean bill of health despite protests from the
opposition who have now established a resistance wing of the coalition.
In its interim report, the AU election observer mission led by Thabo Mbeki urged aggrieved parties to seek legal redress.
“Following
the announcement of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries
Commission, the mission calls upon all parties that feel aggrieved by
this election to follow the legal process in challenging any aspects of
the electoral process,” said Mr Mbeki.
Relationship with observers
But
the opposition has dismissed the mission, saying the AU should vet
their observers in future to ensure they do not have any relationship
with senior people in government.
In the 2007
post-election crisis, the African Union was instrumental in the
formation of a panel of Eminent African Persons led by former UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan, which midwifed a grand coalition
government.
The idea was mooted by former Ghanaian
president John Kufuor, who was then the serving AU chairman, paving the
way for Mr Annan to lead the process dubbed “Serena Talks.”
The
AU was therefore following the same arrangement, according to Ms
Semata, who said the continental body will have to wait for advice from
the Mbeki-led mission before taking its next step.
However,
Jubilee friendly politicians led by former Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba
kicked off another process urging the AU to take action against Mr
Odinga, claiming that he has fomented a political crisis to negotiate
for a coalition government.
According to a petition
sent to the AU and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development
(Igad), Mr Namwamba and a group calling itself the Council for Kenya
Professionals, among them former speaker of Senate Ekwe Ethuro, told the
two bodies that Mr Odinga and his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka were
sponsoring violence that could lead to genocide if action is not taken.
Mr
Odinga continued to dig in when he announced the formation of People’s
Assembly to put pressure on President Kenyatta to support a fresh
presidential election in 90 days.
Dismissing
the repeat poll of October 26, Mr Odinga maintained that electoral
reforms were necessary to allow for a credible election that would
restore confidence among the majority of Kenyans in the national
electoral process.
President Kenyatta on the other hand
stated that the Constitution must be adhered to, saying he would only
welcome talks once the appeal period has elapsed and a new government
has been formed.
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