Nairobi — As President Mwai Kibaki consolidates his presidency after the disputed elections, his major headache now is to avoid being consigned to pariah status by the international community.
Apart from Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, no other East African leader has sent a congratulatory message to him. (As of last Thursday, in the rest of Africa, only Swaziland, Somalia and Morocco sent such messages.) Observers say this implies that they are hesitating over recognising a victory that led to violence in which hundreds were killed and thousands displaced.
Faced with a scenario where most foreign governments get their impression of the elections from the media, President Kibaki last week embarked on a shuttle diplomacy wherein four delegates were sent to various countries to explain the government position on the crisis.
The delegates were Local Government Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Minister for Internal Security George Saitoti, Minister for Foreign Affairs Moses Wetangula and Raphael Tuju (former foreign affairs minister).
A worrying situation for the Kibaki government is the fact that Tanzania, a neighbour and a member of the East African Community, has remained silent since the election results were declared on December 30.
Museveni justified his recognition of the government on the grounds that he was following protocol after the Electoral Commission of Kenya declared Kibaki the winner.
Both local and international observers of the Kenyan elections are unanimous that the polls were seriously flawed.
Unlike in 2002 when Kibaki's victory saw a flurry of congratulatory messages from all over the world, this time round he has to contend with a situation where that world has adopted a wait and see stance. Experts in international law argued that the this non-committal stance could persist as long as the dispute over the election results is unresolved, and until it is clear who actually won the elections.
A foreign diplomat in Nairobi told The EastAfrican that the international community is worried that if the Kenyan election results are left to stand, then other African states will follow suit and it would be difficult to condemn any country for fraudulent elections.
Due to the flawed elections, the European Union, the UK, and the US have also declined to recognise the Kibaki government as legitimate.
The US, for instance, was quick to send a congratulatory message to the president, only to withdraw it later after the EU observers criticised the tallying of the presidential vote.
US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer, who is in Kenya, clarified that the US was only congratulating the people of Kenya for exercising their democratic rights, and not President Kibaki.
The EU had stated that the Kenyan polls fell short of democratic standards. Graf Lambsdorff, the EU chief observer, said the election commission has not succeeded in establishing the credibility of the tallying process.
He added that the elections fell short of the UN Charter on Civil and Political Rights, which Kenya has subscribed to.
Only five years ago, Kenya was singled out as an example for Africa for having held free and fair elections in 2002 and effecting a smooth transition; Kibaki being sworn in on an overwhelming wave of popularity.
Legal experts noted that should the dispute over elections drag on too long and the international community delay in recognising the government, then Kenya will find it hard to enforce its rights at international fora.
The International Bill of Rights, to which Kenya is a signatory, requires among other things that countries uphold genuine diplomatic processes.
According to Nairobi lawyer Donald Kipkorir, the lack of recognition undermines Kenya's international obligations, since all countries are members of the global community who are bound together by international conventions and agreements, and mutual recognition of governments.
Bernett Sianya, a lecturer in international law at the University of Nairobi, noted that Kenya is in a state of limbo in terms of international relations, with some countries adopting a wait and see option, while others are putting pressure on Kenyan to solve its problems before it can be recognised.
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As an African I congratulate all the sane minded African Leaders that have not sent congratulatory messages to Kibaki.The Leaders that have are clearly living somewhere in the dark ages and expect the rest of Africa to live under a false belief that as Africans we are not destined to evolve, develop, be enlightened and dominate in economics and politics at an advanced level. I reckon the process of voting in a "democratic" state in it self leaves much to be desired.You see this type of general dissatisfaction across the continent as regards the type of presidents that win elections- mostly unqualified leaders that represent the continent at global and regional levels.This is evident in the AID that a grown man like Africa is still receiving today!! From what ?! A more evolved civilized Aryan cousin? Nay our Aryan cousins have simply learnt to put and applaud the better man without any fear or favor hence the great development in the last 100 years or so. As for my dear mother Land Africa , if we do not act immediately to shed off the cave mentality as every other race has done now ( though most claim to have never gone through the dark period-a blatant lie)we will continue to receive AID from an equal, we will continue to look unto a man as a god(Blasphemy in itself) Come on Africa wipe the stuff from your eyes and arise to your greatness. Days of wallowing in self pity,poverty,mindless mediocre dictatorships(primitive) are long gone. Its time for empire building,great cities,wealth for all and great enlightenment. As of the process of electing in a democracy-It is important that this be modified to allow for the best possible candidate. We must not just be confined to partisan politics but I believe we as citizens of Africa must go out of our way to find the best possible minds for particular positions in government as well as the presidency itself. We must find a way of going beyond Kibaki and odinga and find the best possible person for the job. we must give priority to development and not to partisan politics as rarely do parties have the best minds for the jobs.