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Kufuor talks with Kibaki and Odinga
African Union chief John Kufuor shuttled between Kenya's president and opposition leader yesterday to try to break a political impasse behind post-election turmoil that has killed about 500 people.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:55 January 10, 2008
- Hundreds of displaced people from Kibera township in Nairobi, wait in Jamhuri Park for food and clothing.
- Image Credit: Tracy Brand/Gulf News
Nairobi: African Union chief John Kufuor shuttled between Kenya's president and opposition leader yesterday to try to break a political impasse behind post-election turmoil that has killed about 500 people.
Kufuor, Ghana's president, met President Mwai Kibaki at his State House office and residence, then went to a hotel for talks with Raila Odinga. He was due to meet both again later.
Odinga says he was cheated out of winning the December 27 vote by ballot rigging by Kibaki's supporters. Washington and London have said the vote counting was flawed.
The crisis has dented Kenya's reputation for stability in a turbulent corner of Africa, hurt key economic sectors like tourism and tea, and tainted Kibaki's previous reputation as a gentlemanly leader with a penchant for P.G. Wodehouse novels.
Long used to hosting refugees from hot-spots like Sudan and Somalia, Kenya has more than a quarter of a million of its own people displaced, many victims of inter-ethnic fighting.
In a statement after their meeting, Kibaki's office said the president assured Kufuor he was initiating dialogue and "would continue to reach out to Kenyan leaders".
Kibaki has implied he could bring opposition figures into government and invited Odinga to a face-to-face meeting on Friday. But the opposition leader has declined, saying such a meeting would be a "sideshow" without an international mediator.
Neither Odinga nor Kufuor discussed their meeting publicly.
"Negotiations are at a very sensitive stage ... there will be no diplomacy through the media," an Odinga spokesman said.
Kufuor's spokesman said more talks were planned.
"He [Kufuor] will be doing another round with them today, with both sides," Kufuor's spokesman Andrew Awuni said. "When we will be leaving will depend on how the talks go."
Kibaki's naming of 17 ministers late on Tuesday sparked more violence around east Africa's largest economy.
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