The United States has praised opposition leader Raila Odinga for
shelving plans to swear him in as the ‘People’s President’, terming the
move a positive step towards national dialogue.
US
ambassador Robert Godec said on Monday Mr Odinga’s decision to put on
hold his controversial swearing-in that was planned for December 12, was
welcome.
The National Super Alliance
(Nasa) announced the postponement of Mr Odinga’s swearing-in on Sunday,
citing internal, national and international interventions as the
reasons for the decision.
Nasa
co-principal Musalia Mudavadi, who made the announcement, said the
coalition would announce the new date for swearing in Mr Odinga and
Kalonzo Musyoka as president and deputy president.
DIALOGUE
On Monday, Mr Godec called on political leaders to lead the nation into open and transparent dialogue.
“Nasa’s
decision yesterday (Sunday) is a positive step. We again call for a
sustained, open, and transparent national conversation involving all
Kenyans to build national unity and address long-standing issues,” said
the ambassador.
Mr Godec and his
counterparts, Nic Hailey (United Kingdom) and Jutta Frasch of Germany
have been pushing for talks between Jubilee and Nasa to end the
political stalemate that has the country divided along tribal lines.
Nasa’s move to call off the planned swearing-in has also received praise from some NGOs.
CHAOTIC
“We
laud Nasa leadership for calling off their planned swearing-in .. since
their function could otherwise have caused more problems to the country
and could be chaotic.
“We thank
Nasa leadership for allowing Kenyans time to celebrate Jamhuri Day,
being an important day in the republic of Kenya,” said Mr Stephen K.
Cheboi, national chairman of NGOs in Kenya.
Mr Cheboi called on the opposition to prioritise dialogue to tackle political grievances.
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