Kenya is in troubled waters again with the collapse of the Kofi Annan-brokered political truce between the government and the opposition. Despite the best efforts of Mr.Annan, the former UN secretary-general, it seems President Mwai Kibaki and his bitter opposition rival Raila Odinga cannot trust each other when it comes to sharing power in Nairobi.
The collapse of the unity talks could have disastrous consequences for Kenya domestically and regionally. With the news of the failure of the power-sharing deal opposition supporters have launched street protests across the capital and ordinary Kenyans believe that the security situation of the country could again spiral out of control with severe repurcussions. According to political analysts, the domestic political impasse is taking its toll on the Kenyan economy and the democratic stability as a whole. The post-election bloodshed is still fresh in the minds of the Kenyans and if the situation does not improve in the near future, the economy would be the hardest hit and there are already speculations that the normally stable east African country could head into a civil turmoil leading to regional instabily of massive proportions.
Western diplomats and independent observers feel that Kenya’s politicians are the only ones to be blamed for the current political vacuum. According to one such diplomat,
President Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga are two most influential politicians in Kenya without any doubt and herein lies the problem. At the moment it seems without the cooperation and coordination of these two leaders there is no way for Kenya to get out of this political mess. Yet, given the long standing bitter rivalry between the two, many are pessimistic about a potential long-term political deal to get the country back on a stable political track. The problem with Kenyan politics, according to local journalists and political scientists, is that the system is utterly corrupt with senior politicians favouring their own ethnic supporters and voters to bolster their respective positions.We are seriously concerned. Even before the breakdown(of truce), it seemed as if the parties were more concerned with sharing the spoils of power rather than governing the country effectively.
The problem between President Kibaki and Raila Odinga lies in the sharing of cabinet posts but even if they had agreed it is hard to believe how they could create a functioning government until the next general election with so much personal differences between the two. With renewed tension in Kenya, Kofi Annan could be back in the country to resolve the issue not just for the sake of Kenyans but for the region as a whole. An unstable Kenya is disaster for the whole of east Africa. Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo and Southern Sudan all need the port at Mombasa to get fuel, food and humanitarian goods through to their respective populations and these countries could easily slide into war if the economies suffer as a result of the Kenyan instability.
Source: Guardian
