Kufuor mediation Message That Had No Place For Kenyans

On January 6, Odinga called for rallies to be held on January 8, despite the government's insistence that the rallies would be illegal. Odinga's spokesman said that while the ODM ruled out a government of national unity, it could discuss "a coalition government with genuine power sharing" (which it said would leave less power for Kibaki than would be the case in a national unity government) or establishing an interim government to hold a new election. Odinga subsequently cancelled the rallies planned for January 8, saying that the mediation process, facilitated by Ghanaian President and African Union Chairman John Kufuor, was about to begin, with Kibaki having officially invited Kufuor, and that negotiations needed to take place in a peaceful atmosphere. Odinga said that he anticipated direct talks involving both himself and Kibaki, with Kufuor's participation. Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju said that by calling off the rallies, Odinga opened the way for negotiation and reconciliation.
There exist doubts that Kibaki really invited Kufuor (as opposed to him having come as a result of international concern for the worsening situation in Kenya). PNU members of parliament, newly-appointed cabinet ministers and even the government spokesman, Dr Alfred Mutua, are known to have said Kufuor "was coming to take tea", and not to "negotiate with the warring factions regarding the elections"; this was captured both on TV and print media. In addition, the PNU side was actively downplaying the seriousness of the post-election crisis, saying that this was a local problem that would be dealt with locally. It even urged the displaced people at various police stations and camps to 'return home' and generally tried to dissuade international attention to the crisis. It is also worth noting that there were conflicting reports from Ghanaian weblogs about President Kufuor's visit. Some weblogs said he was not going to travel to Kenya, since the government did not view him as a welcome visitor, others saying he was required by his official responsibility as AU chairman to try to resolve the crisis in Kenya. Just before Kufuor's travel to Kenya, Moses Wetang'ula, the new Minister for Foreign Affairs travelled to Ghana to 'brief Mr. Kufuor' on the situation in Kenya, ahead of his trip to Kenya. These actions were perceived to be an indication of bad faith on the part of Kibaki and his team, and they preempted their bias against the talks between President Kibaki (and his PNU side) and Raila (and his ODM side). There were also indications that PNU did not want the discussion to be mediated by an outsider.
Odinga refused to accept Kibaki's offer to hold talks unless they took place as part of international mediation, saying that without having Kufuor present to mediate the talks would be a "sideshow" and a "public relations gimmick", and he claimed that Kibaki was using the offer of talks between himself and Odinga to divert attention from Kufuor. Meanwhile, Frazer said on January 7 that there had been rigging in the election, but she said that both sides could have engaged in rigging. She also previously said that Kenyans had "been cheated by their political leadership and their institutions".
Kibaki appointed 17 ministers as part of a new Cabinet on January 8, saying that the rest of the Cabinet would be appointed later. The Cabinet included the ODM-K's Kalonzo Musyoka as Vice-President and Minister of Home Affairs and KANU's Uhuru Kenyatta as Minister of Local Government. Announcing these appointments, Kibaki said: "I have considered the importance of keeping the country united, peaceful and prosperous and a strong broad-based leadership." The ODM's Nyongo said that this Cabinet, in which the ODM was not included, was illegitimate because Kibaki did not win the election. Renewed outbreaks of violence were reported following Kibaki's announcement. With almost half of the Cabinet yet to be named, it was suggested that Kibaki intended to leave the remaining ministries open so that they would be available for the ODM following the negotiations; however, it was also noted that the most important ministries were already filled. Musalia Mudavadi, a leading figure in the ODM, denounced Kibaki's announcement as being intended only to sabotage mediation with Kufuor. The Daily Nation said that Kibaki's move would "be seen as a sign of bad faith" and that it could "poison the atmosphere". U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that it appeared Kibaki was setting up a fait accompli, that the U.S. was "disappointed" by the move, and that it had "expressed its displeasure".(Courtesy of DNA and AP).

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