ROBERT MUKOMBOZI & HUSSEIN BOGERE
KIGALI/KAMPALA
RWANDAN President Paul Kagame has said a re-run of Kenya's disputed December 27 presidential poll should be considered seriously among options to stem the tide of post-election violence in the country."I want to make my position clear on this matter. There are three scenarios of ending this situation and one of them is a re-run," Mr Kagame told journalists in Kigali yesterday.He said a re-run would help the warring factions on both sides of the political divide to settle their disputes democratically. "The violence in Kenya is worsening and human rights violations are increasing. This must stop. Both PNU and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) should go back to elections all together," Mr Kagame said at a monthly press conference held in Kigali yesterday.Mr Kagame is the first and so far only president from the East African region to repeatedly suggest bold solutions to the Kenyan post election conflict that has pitted President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe against Opposition leader Raila Odinga's Jaluo community and other groups supporting the opposition.Former U.N. Secretary-General Koffi Annan brokered a deal between Kenya's rival parties on Friday to take immediate steps to end the post-election violence which has killed nearly 900 people and displaced more than a quarter of a million. But the ethnic tensions in Kenya have taken on a momentum of their own, going beyond a standoff over Mr Kibaki's disputed re-election. Mr Kagame has a right to suggest solutions to Kenya's problems because Kenya is the main entry and exit route for Rwanda's imports and exports. The violence therefore has had a great bearing on Rwanda's economy. Just like Rwanda, Uganda too has suffered the brunt of the anarchy in Kenya, with many of its imports getting stranded in Mombasa.Mr Kagame also took a swipe at critics of his proposed military intervention. Defending his position yesterday, he said the intervention of Kenyan military forces is imperative since people are continuing to die, and many others displaced daily due to the political unrest while other institutions are looking on. "The army should step in as negotiations progress. When I gave this military proposal, I knew some people would get it differently but I am just reading the situation on the ground and I find military intervention a priority at this time," Mr Kagame, a Major General in the Rwandan Army said. Mr Kagame, however, doubted whether the same institutions that conducted the previous elections would make a difference. Mr Kagame also proposed a recount of votes and equal power sharing between the big two -Mr Kibaki's PNU and ODM.

Lucy Kibaki punched me - MP
NAIROBI A Kenyan legislator yesterday accused President Mwai Kibaki’s wife, Lucy, of assaulting him at the official State House residence three weeks ago and said he planned to sue her. The government denied the charge. Government-allied legislator Gitobu Imanyara, a lawyer who unsuccessfully sued the first lady on behalf of a television cameraman who said she slapped him in 2005, told reporters he had been the latest target of Lucy Kibaki’s ire. But the government fiercely denied the claim, saying Kibaki had instructed her lawyers to take legal action against Imanyara and “any other individual or outlets that perpetuate or communicate the wild allegations made today”. “(The allegations) border on character assassination, blackmail and are part of a wider political scheme aimed at besmirching the office of the First Lady,” a statement from the Presidential Press Service said. The president is currently wrestling with a national crisis over disputed elections that have ignited opposition calls for his removal and widespread ethnic bloodshed. “I will be bringing proceedings against her this week, so we can give her an opportunity to come to court and tell the Kenyan people why she thinks that she has control of State House, that she can run amok,” Imanyara said. He said he was in State House for a meeting about the race for parliament speaker when the first lady became angry at his presence because he had been involved in the earlier lawsuit. “She was in pyjamas and not wearing any shoes. She immediately started throwing punches at me shouting ‘nobody goes here without my permission’.” Lucy Kibaki, known to be fiercely protective of her husband, has been at the centre of controversy on several occasions. In December, she slapped a protocol official who called her by the name of a woman widely reported to be the president’s second wife. In 2005, she entered Nation Media’s newsroom to complain about a story and slapped cameraman Clifford Derrick, as the police and her security detail looked on helplessly. In fact, she had the wrong newsroom, as the source of her anger was a story by the rival Standard media group. In 2004, she publicly upbraided Vice President Moody Awori, who called her the “second lady”. She also shouted down a former World Bank country director for playing loud music at a party at the home he had rented from the Kibaki family. Reuters

GIVE PEACE IN KENYA A CHANCE
I spent three years in Kenya as U.S. Ambassador. I shed blood and tears with Kenyans after al Qaeda blew up the American embassy in 1998 killing 213 people and injuring over 5,000. I argued with political leaders, laughed with friends and joined forces with the thousands of women and men seeking greater participation, more prosperity and less corruption. Kenyans are a diverse people of more than 40 ethnic groups, proud of their past and determined to create a better future. Don’t write them off.

There is nothing new about disputed elections and fights over positional leadership in Africa , nor in the response of our government and media. Once again, feuding politicians and rampaging gangs get the spotlight. What is new and largely unattended by officials and press, are the peacemaking efforts of Kenyan citizens exercising their own personal leadership. We already know what the political contestants are doing -- the same thing they always do -- sip tea with visiting officials pleading to put national interest over self. It is about time we learned what citizen peacemakers are doing.

The Association of Media Women in Kenya is travelling the country to bring attention to local peacemaking efforts. Inter-faith associations are bringing people of all ethnic groups together. Concerned Citizens for Peace and other parts of civil society are campaigning with plans to address Kenyan problems. Cyberactivists are using mash-ups, blogs, cell phones, Face Book and You-tube to relay information, seek assistance and disseminate hope. Red Cross and relief organizations are mobilizing their members.

Anyone who wants to do more than cluck despairingly about yet another African country heading down the tubes can help to give peace in Kenya a chance. Media can report the peace efforts. VIPs can visit peacemakers, bringing attention and stature to them. U.S. officials can request that politicians articulate their strategies to build and sustain peace. Business clubs and professional associations can reach out to their counterparts. International figures can highlight women peacemakers, underscoring the importance of UN Resolution 1325 which calls for more women’s participation at every stage of conflict resolution. If nothing else, individuals can send support via internet.

A decade has passed since al Qaeda’s mass murder but I doubt that anyone in Nairobi that day has forgotten Rose Wanjiku. She reflected the hope, resilience and solidarity of the Kenyan people as she struggled to survive under the rubble of Ufundi House. Her ethnicity was irrelevant. She was “ Kenya ’s Rose,” a fitting symbol to the growing peace efforts today. Rose died; peace in Kenya need not.


Prudence Bushnell, Former U.S. Ambassador to Kenya (1/21/08)