John Michuki, the government minister of Kenya had said that there was no need for the former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to visit the country on Tuesday to lead new mediation efforts. Last week’s initiative led by President John Kufuor of Ghana had failed.
So far over 600 people were killed in the violence after the elections. A quarter of a million people have been displaced from their homes; as a result of the post-election violence.
Amidst the violence and chaos in the country, schools across Kenya had reopened while holidays were extended.
Still, the tension is still high as Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) still prepares for 3 days of protests on Wednesday. However, the police had banned all public gatherings and protests as a result of the violence.
The one thing that has stalled negotiations is the opposition’s request for international mediators. At the same time, the government rejects demands for international mediation and maintains that the solution must be domestic.
After the failed talks, President Kufuor gave the suggestion that both sides work with another panel of mediators. While Kofi Annan is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, Mr. Michuki a hard line member of President Mwai Kibaki’s newly filled cabinet downplayed it.
“If Kofi Annan is coming, he is not coming at our invitation,” he said.
“We won the elections so we do not see the point for anyone coming to mediate power-sharing,” Michuki added.
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