Kenya govt rejects Annan mediation in crisis - AFP

Kenya govt rejects Annan mediation in crisis
6 hours ago

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jDPv5kaAjhg60cMvfLzWKGDr8V4A

NAIROBI (AFP) — The Kenyan government on Monday rejected a mediation mission by former UN chief Kofi Annan to try to end political unrest and sent a stern warning to the opposition ahead of nationwide protests.

Two weeks after President Mwai Kibaki's contested re-election sparked violence that has left more than 700 dead, Annan was due in Nairobi on Tuesday, his office said.

But Kibaki's government again rejected international mediation of the crisis, which has also left a quarter of a million displaced.

"If Kofi Annan is coming, he is not coming at our invitation," Roads and Public Works Minister John Michuki, a hardline member of Kibaki's new cabinet, told reporters.

"We won the elections so we do not see the point for anyone coming to mediate power-sharing," he added.

International mediation efforts have so far failed to bring Kibaki to the negotiating table with opposition leader Raila Odinga, who says the December 27 election was rigged to rob him of the presidency.

Annan appealed on Friday to "all Kenyan leaders, government as well as the opposition in the country to avoid any measures or steps that would further compromise the search for an amicable solution to the country's crisis."

International observers have voiced concern over irregularities in vote counting after the December 27 polls but no foreign power has come out strongly against Kibaki, who took the oath an hour after the results were announced.

The 76-year-old was due to inaugurate Kenya's 10th parliament on Tuesday.

Neither his Party of National Unity (PNU) nor Odinga's opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) managed to secure a majority, prompting a fight between both sides to woo smaller parties ahead of the chamber's re-opening.

Odinga has vowed his party will sit down on the government's side on the parliament benches.

"We expect rough times and a major showdown in parliament, dominated by patronage, vendettas and unproductiveness if the situation remains as it is," Kenyan political analyst Evans Manduku said Monday.

Senior ODM official William Ruto denied that by attending the opening of parliament convened by Kibaki, the opposition would be recognising the legitimacy of his presidency.

"We are not going to sit back and allow them to install a speaker who will pave the way for the illegitimacy to continue," he said.

Meanwhile, police and opposition supporters braced for further clashes Wednesday, the first day of three days of nationwide rallies to protest Kibaki's re-election.

A police ban on the rallies has fueled fears of fresh violence after a police crackdown with tear gas and water cannons on previous opposition demonstrations.

"Kenyans should be warned that anyone participating or organising will be held personally responsible and will have to face the law," Interior Minister George Saitoti said at a press conference Monday.

At least 700 people were killed in rioting and tit-for-tat tribal killings following the announcement of Kibaki's re-election on December 30.

Meanwhile, some Kenyan children returned to school Monday amid a major police deployment.

In Nairobi, many primary and secondary schools re-opened a week late, including in the slums.

"We're still worried, but we're not as afraid as before," said 30-year-old mother Gladys Kemunto, as her six-year old son Clifford clung to her skirt outside a school amid torched houses in the sprawling Kibera slum.

In many badly-hit areas, particularly the west of the country, children remained unable to attend classes for security reasons, fear of tribal reprisals or because they had been displaced and had no schools to go to.

At Jamuhuri stadium, a temporary shelter for the homeless in Nairobi, 12-year-old orphan George said he wished he could go to school

"I want to be the president," he said. "I can unite and help people."

Some 260,000 people have had to flee their homes since the violence erupted, prompting a humanitarian crisis in a country accustomed to sheltering refugees from neighbouring states.