David Ohito
21 January 2008
Nairobi — Kenya's political crisis was a subject of debate in the House of Commons again, as it emerged that the UK did not formally recognise the Kibaki Government.
The House was told how Kenya remains tense and unpredictable.
A member demanded that rival parties in the election dispute "use the opportunity of international mediation to come together for dialogue to resolve their differences".
The House called for a lasting political solution, based on compromise, which reflects the will of the people.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Ms Meg Munn, moved the debate on Thursday.
But she soon ran into trouble after she referred to Kibaki as "President of Kenya".
Conservative member, Mr James Duddridge asked: "The minister mentioned President Kibaki. Does the Foreign Office formally r ecognise him as the President of the country?"
Munn replied: "Our Government has not recognised the Government and is calling on both leaders to co-operate in a process of mediation."
Members demanded more political pressure on the Kibaki administration and those responsible for post-election violence.
But Labour member, Mr Andy Reed, cautioned that some measures were likely to hurt the common man.
"Does the minister agree that while it is vital that we put political pressure on those involved in the violence, the people who suffer most in such circumstances, as always, are those facing the consequences of the humanitarian disaster? Will she ensure that humanitarian aid always gets through to those who need it most on the ground? I know that that is a difficult balance to strike," he said.
The House also debated a KTN clip of a policeman shooting a protester and kicking him before he died.
"Yesterday, the world was shocked to witness on television screens unarmed protesters being shot by Kenyan security forces. A process of national reconciliation is desperately needed to start to heal the wounds that have been inflicted by the disputed elections and the violence that has followed," Munn said.
She added: "Kenya's economy will suffer. We do not want that. We want Kenya to grow."
Munn said the UK fully supported President Kufuor's peace mission. They called for an end to violence to give dialogue a chance.
"We are pleased that former United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, agreed to head the panel, and that Mrs Graca Machel and former Tanzanian President, Mr Benjamin Mkapa, also agreed to take part," Munn said.
She added: "The House demands that fundamental issues that need to be addressed remain the same. The allegations of fraud during the elections should be investigated. Those who are found to have acted illegally should be held to account. That also applies if they are found to have instigated violence."
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The East African Standard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
