- Title: KENYA: Kenyan rivals meet for the first time since a disputed election
- Date: 25th January 2008
- Summary: (BN14) NAIROBI, KENYA (JANUARY 24, 2008) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ORANGE DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT (ODM) OFFICIALS AT PRESS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ODM SECRETARY GENERAL, PETER ANYANG' NYONG'O, SAYING: "We as ODM denounce and categorically reject the unfortunate statement by Mr. Mwai Kibaki that he is duly elected President of Kenya and that the current crisis can be resol
- Embargoed: 9th February 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Kenya
- Country: Kenya
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAE9DXALV2BHW9HOQJY1EPC5B73
- Story Text: Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition rival Raila Odinga met on Thursday (January 24) for the first time since a disputed December 27 election fuelled weeks of riots and violence.
Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is mediating between Kenya's feuding parties, shook hands with Odinga and Kibaki at the president's office in central Nairobi.
Kibaki and Odinga shook hands more than once, smiling, as they sat down to talk.
After their closed-door meeting in Kibaki's office in central Nairobi, the two rivals and Annan addressed a waiting crowd.
When the pair shook hands, this time in front of a crowd, there were cheers.
"I think we begun to take fair steps towards a peaceful solution of the problem and as you can see the two leaders are here to underline their engagement to dialogue and to work together," Annan told reporters gathered outside Kibaki's central Nairobi office, where the discussions took place.
The two leaders had not talked since the Dec. 27 polls despite intense pressure from Western powers and millions of anxious Kenyans horrified by their country's slide into chaos.
Odinga, who says Kibaki stole the election, said talks would continue until a solution was found.
"Today we have taken the first vital steps to resolving the election disputes and conflict that has ravaged this country for nearly a month now," Odinga said.
Kibaki vowed to personally lead the east African country to unity and peace.
"As government we are determined to get to the underlying causes of these unprecedented events and to lead the nation in a process of healing reconciliation and lasting harmony," said Kibaki.
Odinga and other officials from his opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) agreed after meeting Annan on Wednesday (January 23) to call off protests planned for Thursday.
The opposition demanded an outside mediator to solve a crisis that has split Kenya down tribal and political lines, after Kibaki narrowly won the closest election in the east African nation's history in a vote rife with rigging.
But shortly after the public statements of the two rivals, the opposition party denounced Kibaki, accusing him of having "no intention" of letting international mediation resolve the political crisis.
"We as ODM (Orange Democratic Movement) denounce and categorically reject the unfortunate statement by Mr. Mwai Kibaki that he is duly elected President of KEnya and that the current crisis can be resolved internally.
Calling himself the duly elected president negates the whole rationale for international mediation. The AU-mandated mediation team in the country only because it is recognized that the current stalemate over the presidential elections cannot be resolved without international mediation," opposition leader and ODM secretary General Peter Anyang' Nyong'o told reporters.
Nyong'o said Kibaki's statement after the closed-door talks -- in which he said that as the country's duly elected president he would lead efforts to unify Kenyans -- negated the rationale for mediation efforts led by Annan.
"The violence and the general breakdown of law and order is a direct result of the announcement of fraudulent results by the ECK (Electoral Commission of Kenya) and until that is resolved, peace will continue to be elusive. It is now imperative that the mediation principles and agenda be agreed expeditiously in writing between ODM and PNU (Party of National Unity) so that process may formally commence," said Nyong'o.
The opposition also said Kibaki's behaviour was "demeaning and unacceptable" and was aimed at undermining the mediation effort and to "prolong the suffering of the people of Kenya."
Kenya has been in crisis since the December polls with the opposition being adamant that Kibaki was an illegitimate president and that he should step down before any efforts to reconciliation are made.
The post-elections violence, which have killed an estimated 400 and displaced thousands, has shattered Kenya's image as a stable, democratic country with the region's strongest economy.
Its core tourism industry has seen mass cancellations and the shittling currency hit an 18-month low on Wednesday before recovering. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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