Arising from his three-day assessment of the political situation in Kenya, the former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, delivered a stern message to Kenyans, warning that : ”There is a “crisis of confidence” in the political leadership as the country is flirting with disaster by delaying much-needed reforms.
Annan was sober, blunt and sounded discouraged Thursday, while answering questions on BBC Television early morning news, as to where Kenya “stands” a year and a half after its bloody election period.
“It is clear this is a moment of truth,” says Annan. “Please, as Kenyans, don’t sit back. When leaders fail to lead, sometimes we have to make them follow.”
“Unless we take action,” he said, “we are running a great risk.”
He said that he expected the International Criminal Court to prosecute the “big men” who orchestrated the mayhem in Kenya last year, which killed over 1,000 people.
He however, added though, that : “It was imperative for Kenya’s courts to hold their own trials of lower-ranking perpetrators, in a statement against impunity”.
Last year, Annan was mandated to help in pulling Kenya back from the brink of ethnic violence set off by a deeply flawed election, which many international election observers documented that the government had rigged.
Apart from succeeding in bringing warring politicians to the negotiating table, Annan shaped an agreement that staved off the fighting and formed a governing coalition.
Amid international pressure from rights activists condemning the slow-pace in prosecuting the suspected ringleaders of the violence, many of whom serve in the government, in the top ministries, critics argued that Kenya’s leaders have been dragging their feet on the crucial issues that were laid bare during last year’s election crisis, including land disputes, ethnic favoritism and an imperial-style presidency.
Last week, the Kenyan anti-corruption chief, who had been widely ridiculed for drawing an enormous salary (about $400,000 a year as the average Kenyan makes about $1,000) while doing just about nothing, was sacked, barely a month after the national police chief, who was blamed for a spree of extrajudicial killings, was demoted.
Annan, who held long meetings with opposition politicians, human rights activists, religious leaders, election officials, diplomats and business leaders, along with President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, observed early Wednesday that the government had taken some steps in the right direction.
But, according to the former UN boss, reforms must be accomplished by the next presidential election in 2012.
Source African Press Agency
