Odinga Dismisses Kibaki’s Cabinet

Kenya’s main opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has described as unfortunate and illegal President Mwai Kibaki’s announcement of members of his cabinet. Kibaki’s announcement comes as Ghana’s President and African Union chairman John Kufuor is expected today (Wednesday) to chair talks between the opposition and the government. The talks are aimed at resolving the ongoing political impasse and also to address the escalating violence, which is threatening Kenya’s young democracy.

Political observers say Kibaki’s announcement would not only embarrass President Kufuor, but could potentially undermine the chance to resolve the country’s political crisis. William Ruto is a leading member of the opposition ODM. He tells reporter Peter Clottey from the Kenyan capital, that Kibaki’s announcement is disappointing.

“Mr. Kibaki is behaving true to his colors. We had agreed with him that he was not going to make any move, and that is the reason why we postponed our rallies, which were meant to happen today to give negotiations a chance. Our position is that Mwai Kibaki is not the president of Kenya because he lost the election and any purported announcement of anybody into something called a cabinet is a farce,” Ruto noted.

He said President Kibaki’s cabinet appointment is a calculated attempt to refuse to address the problems that followed the controversial December 27^th election.

“Mwai Kibaki is trying to divert attention from the crisis our country faces. We are due for negotiations under the mediation of the president of Ghana John Kufuor, and he is trying to run away from the discussion because he is ashamed and because he stole from the people of Kenya and he does not want that subject discussed. He believes that he can run this country the way Mugabe (Zimbabwe’s President) is running Zimbabwe. We want to tell him this is Kenya, this is not Zimbabwe, he is not going to get away with it,” he said.

Ruto described as unfortunate reports that leading members of President Kibaki’s new team are downplaying the role of Ghana’s president who is expected to jumpstart today’s talks between Kenya’s government and the opposition.

“It is the understanding of ODM, it is the understanding of many leaders in Africa, and it is the understanding of many leaders across the world that President Kufuor is coming here to mediate so that we can end the crisis in our country. Gordon Brown  (British Prime minister) had made a statement on this, George Bush of the U. S. made a statement today on this, and he was very categorical that John Kufuor was coming here to mediate on the situation we have here in this country,” Ruto pointed out.

He denied the situation on the ground may not favor the opposition ODM party.

“I think things are going the way we wanted. We had proposed right from the beginning that we need negotiations under international mediation. The international community has pressed and in our country yesterday evening President Kufuor arrived and we have prepared ourselves for discussions this morning. Anything about appointing a cabinet is a diversionary tactic and we are not going to buy into that. We are walking straight into the talks, and we want to resolve the issues on the table so that we can move this country forward,” he said.

Meanwhile, partisans of the opposition ODM reportedly rioted in the western city of Kisumu upon hearing that embattled President Mwai Kibaki had named several members of a new cabinet.

VOA News - Kenya’s Opposition ODM Dismisses Kibaki’s Cabinet Appointment

Kenya’s Opposition ODM Dismisses Kibaki’s Cabinet Appointment

By Peter Clottey
Washington, D.C.
09 January 2008

Clottey Interview With ODM's William Ruto
Listen to Clottey Interview With ODM's William Ruto

ODM Dismisses Kibaki’s Cabinet

 

Kenya’s main opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has described as unfortunate and illegal President Mwai Kibaki’s announcement of members of his cabinet. Kibaki’s announcement comes as Ghana’s President and African Union chairman John Kufuor is expected today (Wednesday) to chair talks between the opposition and the government. The talks are aimed at resolving the ongoing political impasse and also to address the escalating violence, which is threatening Kenya’s young democracy.

Political observers say Kibaki’s announcement would not only embarrass President Kufuor, but could potentially undermine the chance to resolve the country’s political crisis. William Ruto is a leading member of the opposition ODM. He tells reporter Peter Clottey from the Kenyan capital, that Kibaki’s announcement is disappointing.

“Mr. Kibaki is behaving true to his colors. We had agreed with him that he was not going to make any move, and that is the reason why we postponed our rallies, which were meant to happen today to give negotiations a chance. Our position is that Mwai Kibaki is not the president of Kenya because he lost the election and any purported announcement of anybody into something called a cabinet is a farce,” Ruto noted.

He said President Kibaki’s cabinet appointment is a calculated attempt to refuse to address the problems that followed the controversial December 27^th election.

“Mwai Kibaki is trying to divert attention from the crisis our country faces. We are due for negotiations under the mediation of the president of Ghana John Kufuor, and he is trying to run away from the discussion because he is ashamed and because he stole from the people of Kenya and he does not want that subject discussed. He believes that he can run this country the way Mugabe (Zimbabwe’s President) is running Zimbabwe. We want to tell him this is Kenya, this is not Zimbabwe, he is not going to get away with it,” he said.

Ruto described as unfortunate reports that leading members of President Kibaki’s new team are downplaying the role of Ghana’s president who is expected to jumpstart today’s talks between Kenya’s government and the opposition.

“It is the understanding of ODM, it is the understanding of many leaders in Africa, and it is the understanding of many leaders across the world that President Kufuor is coming here to mediate so that we can end the crisis in our country. Gordon Brown  (British Prime minister) had made a statement on this, George Bush of the U. S. made a statement today on this, and he was very categorical that John Kufuor was coming here to mediate on the situation we have here in this country,” Ruto pointed out.

He denied the situation on the ground may not favor the opposition ODM party.

“I think things are going the way we wanted. We had proposed right from the beginning that we need negotiations under international mediation. The international community has pressed and in our country yesterday evening President Kufuor arrived and we have prepared ourselves for discussions this morning. Anything about appointing a cabinet is a diversionary tactic and we are not going to buy into that. We are walking straight into the talks, and we want to resolve the issues on the table so that we can move this country forward,” he said.

Meanwhile, partisans of the opposition ODM reportedly rioted in the western city of Kisumu upon hearing that embattled President Mwai Kibaki had named several members of a new cabinet.

VOA News - Kenya’s Opposition ODM Dismisses Kibaki’s Cabinet Appointment

Kenya’s Opposition ODM Dismisses Kibaki’s Cabinet Appointment

By Peter Clottey
Washington, D.C.
09 January 2008

Clottey Interview With ODM's William Ruto
Listen to Clottey Interview With ODM's William Ruto

Kenyan rivals moving toward talks

 

Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times,A homeless family in Kenya wakes to another day in a park.

 

More than 250,000 people so far have been left homeless by the violence and many are living in shelters or in public parks.

The president and the opponent accusing him of stealing the election may meet, bringing hope for an end to their power struggle and the deadly violence it has spurred.

By Robyn Dixon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 8, 2008

NAIROBI, KENYA -- Three days of shuttle diplomacy by the top U.S. diplomat on African issues had failed Monday to get the two rivals for the Kenyan presidency to the negotiation table, but there were signs that they were inching toward talks.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who has accused President Mwai Kibaki of stealing the election, called off a protest rally of his supporters planned for today in order to allow mediation of the crisis by the African Union.

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Unrest in Kenya

Later Monday, Kibaki, who was sworn in to a second term on Dec. 30 after the disputed elections, invited Odinga to meet with religious leaders on how to stop postelection violence and forge reconciliation. An aide to the opposition leader later told the Associated Press that Odinga would be willing to attend the Friday meeting, but only as part of the African Union mediation.
In the last week, demonstrations by Odinga's supporters have been accompanied by looting, violence and the burning of churches. The postelection protests also have brought an increase in tribal killings.
Kenya faces what one newspaper headline Monday called the country's "darkest week" as Kibaki and Odinga struggle for control. Their impasse has fed the violence and instability in a nation that had been a success story in a volatile region of Africa.
Jendayi Frazer, the U.S. diplomat, said Monday that the deep distrust between Kibaki and Odinga was one of the main barriers to reaching a political solution to their dispute.
"What we have said is that dialogue is necessary. . . . I think both are prepared to talk. I think what they both need is some confidence," said the U.S. assistant secretary of State. "They don't trust each other very much. They're not certain."
Frazer said Kenyan electoral and political institutions needed to be reformed.
Kenyans "have been cheated by the leadership of Kenya and their institutions," Frazer said. "The political leaders have to stop the violence, and they have to reform the institutions."
African Union Chairman John Kufuor, the president of Ghana, was scheduled to fly to Kenya today to broker negotiations.
"We want the mediation to take place in a peaceful environment -- that is why the rallies have been canceled," Odinga told journalists Monday.
The dispute has pitted Luos and other tribes that support Odinga against Kibaki's dominant Kikuyu tribe, seen by others as having enjoyed the fruits of power too long.
The government said Monday that nearly 500 people had died in tribal violence over the disputed Dec. 27 election, and 255,000 had fled their homes. But Odinga said the death toll could be 1,000.
In the streets of Odinga's stronghold in the Nairobi slum district of Kibera, there was confusion among his supporters Monday as news broke that today's protest rally had been canceled.
"We know that if he says there is no rally, there must be a reason," said Edward Oloo, 32, who lives deep in the slum district.
Odinga has called repeated protests to pressure Kibaki. The demonstrators were stopped from rallying in a Nairobi park by riot police firing tear gas, water cannons and, at times, bullets.
But the protests make a volatile tool: Odinga's supporters in Kibera said the clashes with police and the lack of a political compromise from Kibaki left them angrier than they were a week ago.
"We are being trampled, and we don't like it," said John Lallo, 62, who added that he has never had a job. "We are more angry than we were. We're worried about our security and the future of our children."
"It's just like a cold war now," said another Odinga supporter, George Modigo, 35, also unemployed. "There's nothing going on; there are no jobs. We are not earning any money."
The Luo men sleep outside in the streets in fear of attacks by Kikuyus, who live in a neighboring part of Kibera.
But the lanes in Oloo's area were calm Monday: Women sold fish, vegetables and charcoal by the road, and small stalls were open.
Odinga's supporters echo the distrust their leader has of Kibaki, and their sense that a power-sharing deal would just be a way to cheat Odinga out of power.
Kibaki "is not trustworthy," Modigo said. "You make a deal with him, and he just changes it."
Charles Abanga, 37, another unemployed supporter of Odinga, said: "It's a political issue, and if it can't be solved amicably, there will be war."
robyn.dixon@latimes.com

Kenyan rivals inching toward talks - Los Angeles Times