Well yesterday was another day of further disappointments.
I had a text message through my phone late in the afternoon that said Kibaki would address the nation at 5.30. I immediately rushed to put on the TV and wait for some positive news and what did we get …… He named half the cabinet.
Kenyans were stunned. He named Kalonzo Musyoka (the third main contender originally vying for the Presidency with the ODM Kenya party) as his Vice President and Minister for Home Affairs, he named 5 KANU MP’s as ministers (KANU being the former President Moi’s political party), one other ODM Kenya MP, and the rest from his own PNU. I’m assuming he’s saying ‘You see I left you the other half!’, but it seems he has filled all the major positions already.
He addressed the nation for all of about 2 minutes, named half of the cabinet and that was that. Half an hour later the President of the African Union and Ghana, President Kufuor touched down at Nairobi’s International Airport, in order to start negotiations between Kibaki and Odinga.
But from what I can gather of the Kenyans general reaction – we have had no official word yet from Raila Odinga with regards to this naming of half the cabinet as far as I know, but it is complete disappointment in Kibaki that it seems he has no wish to take these negotiations seriously.
Raila had a meeting (before this announcement) yesterday with his party and is still insisting he is the President and he will take his MPs and sit on the ‘Government’ side of the house when parliament resumes next Tuesday – so that’ll be an interesting bun fight when they’re all trying to sit on each others laps!
Well, well, the soap opera continues. Tension is high and all Raila has to do is snap his fingers right now and the people will rise up and we will be in serious uprising and more lives will be lost. They are just standing by waiting for the word from him.
All we can hope for today is that all these mediators we have in the country right now will start these talks between the two as soon as possible and will absolutely not let it come to that.
I had a text message through my phone late in the afternoon that said Kibaki would address the nation at 5.30. I immediately rushed to put on the TV and wait for some positive news and what did we get …… He named half the cabinet.
Kenyans were stunned. He named Kalonzo Musyoka (the third main contender originally vying for the Presidency with the ODM Kenya party) as his Vice President and Minister for Home Affairs, he named 5 KANU MP’s as ministers (KANU being the former President Moi’s political party), one other ODM Kenya MP, and the rest from his own PNU. I’m assuming he’s saying ‘You see I left you the other half!’, but it seems he has filled all the major positions already.
He addressed the nation for all of about 2 minutes, named half of the cabinet and that was that. Half an hour later the President of the African Union and Ghana, President Kufuor touched down at Nairobi’s International Airport, in order to start negotiations between Kibaki and Odinga.
But from what I can gather of the Kenyans general reaction – we have had no official word yet from Raila Odinga with regards to this naming of half the cabinet as far as I know, but it is complete disappointment in Kibaki that it seems he has no wish to take these negotiations seriously.
Raila had a meeting (before this announcement) yesterday with his party and is still insisting he is the President and he will take his MPs and sit on the ‘Government’ side of the house when parliament resumes next Tuesday – so that’ll be an interesting bun fight when they’re all trying to sit on each others laps!
Well, well, the soap opera continues. Tension is high and all Raila has to do is snap his fingers right now and the people will rise up and we will be in serious uprising and more lives will be lost. They are just standing by waiting for the word from him.
All we can hope for today is that all these mediators we have in the country right now will start these talks between the two as soon as possible and will absolutely not let it come to that.
5 comments:
The image your words bring to mind - all those fat politicians trying to squeeze into the same seats on one side of the house addressing what would then be the empty other side of the house - is very comical. Can't you get one of those clever cartoonists at the Nation to illustrate that. But the reality is, as you say, that Kenya is left wide open to further horrible uprising as these two fight over the front door keys to State House.
This would definitely make a fab cartoon and if GADO at the Nation draws it, I'll most definitely post it. It'll be like lots of humpty dumpty men playing musical chairs! I understand the ODM party are going to Parliament Monday to camp out in those seats until Tuesday's opening session - Gosh, how grown up of them!
One has to have hope.
I lived in Ghana for a while & it seemed to me the only reason it didn't decend into chaos when Cote d'Voire did was because it is against the law to have a political party based on either tribal affiliations or religion. But that's easier said then done. I hope President Kufuor can help although it doesn't look good with Kibaki's moves. Fingers crossed.
Casdok - you're right but it's so hard sometimes when you hear the stories of what people have been through.
Wayfarer - I think you're so on track with the long hard road ahead of us. In Kenya they try to tell us that no political party is based on tribal affiliations of religion but the violence seems to tell us otherwise i feel.
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