allAfrica.com: Kenya: Annan Talks to Kibaki, Raila (Page 1 of 2)

Dr Kofi Annan made a long distance intervention as a fresh power standoff threatened to get out of hand with a message to President Kibaki and Mr Raila Odinga - sort out the Cabinet deadlock.

The celebrated former United Nations chief, who spearheaded the post-election mediation talks at a time the country was on the brink of civil war, told the two principals that the distribution of Cabinet portfolios and formation of a coalition Government was well within their reach.

UN sources confirmed that Annan, who is in New York, engaged Kibaki and the Prime Minister-designate separately in lengthy phone conversations on Wednesday evening as the stalemate in forming a shared Government started snowballing into a tense standoff between the Party of National Unity (PNU) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) sides.

And in an indication of the seriousness that the top diplomat takes the Kenyan case, Annan urged both Kibaki and Raila to compromise, saying he was hopeful they would make headway as per the agreement they signed on February 28.

The pressure on Kibaki and Raila to quickly resolve the Cabinet issue was also echoed by diplomats and politicians in Nairobi, who told them to execute their mandate fast and end the rising tension.

Among those who called on the two leaders to amicably finish what they had started was the United States Ambassador Michael Ranneberger, whose country played a key role in pressuring both sides to accede to power-sharing.

Ranneberger said he had been holding meetings with the two to spur them on.

"I have been talking with both President Kibaki and Raila who have assured me that they are committed to the deal," he said.

Some top European diplomatic missions are also understood to have been privately in touch with both principals, with a message to clear what is seen as the final hurdle in the shared deal.

The possibility of Annan being called upon to resolve the sticking points in the deal was exclusively reported at the weekend by our sister newspaper, The Sunday Standard.

Annan is credited with having patiently led a team named Eminent Persons that included former South African First Lady Graca Machel and former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa in hacking through stiff hostility between Kibaki and Raila to bring them to the negotiating table.

The final signing of the deal on the steps of Harambee House on February 28 as Annan and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete witnessed has remained the most enduring picture of the peace deal that stopped the country from catapulting into a pit of violence.

Vice-President, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka (front left), the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Kenneth Marende, and other MPs arrive at the Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, on Thursday. Picture by Moses Omusula

Annan's phone intervention yesterday is expected to trigger cue from more diplomatic circles keen to see the centre of the landmark accord hold.

But Annan's words to the two leaders will be tested this morning at the KICC, where another standoff - the launch of the Safaricom Initial Public Offer - was slowly brewing into a storm.

ODM MPs have said they will today march to KICC to disrupt the ceremony, to be presided over by President Kibaki (see separate story), after the Government refused to heed their calls to delay the sale until a Grand Cabinet is in place and until some outstanding issues on the Sh10 billion share sale are resolved.

The tension this morning has been preceded by politicians from both sides hurling brickbats at each other over the distribution of Cabinet posts.

This prompted the US Ambassador to appeal to both Kibaki and Raila to tame "their foot soldiers who are busy making silly statements which will jeopardise the implementation of the deal."

He said: "Sharing power is not an easy thing. The two leaders should be given humble time to negotiate the sharing of ministries. I am optimistic that the two leaders are committed to the deal they signed."

Ranneberger termed the statements issued by other leaders besides the two principals as diversionary and asked Kibaki, Raila and Kenyans to ignore them.

In the peace deal signed earlier, the mediators and the international community had made it clear that the power sharing deal must be real.

On Wednesday, Annan is reported to have reminded Kibaki and Raila that it was upon them to now implement the agreement in full.

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