US Pushes for power-sharing in Kenya

As we predicted last week, the US has finally made it’s stand on Kenya crystal clear with Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice on Monday throwing Washington’s weight behind efforts to end the deadly post-election crisis by way of power-sharing.

Rice, sent to Kenya by President George Bush during his Africa tour, is the highest-ranking US official to visit Kenya since the stolen December 27 poll triggered protests and ethnic violence that has killed over 1,000 and displaced 300,000. “There needs to be a governance arrangement that will allow real power sharing… a grand coalition, so that Kenyans can be governed,” Rice told reporters after meeting former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who is leading efforts to end the turmoil. And she dangled a carrot even as she delivered the news that bandit President Kibaki did not want to hear: “There is a lot to be gained in a relationship with the United States through resolution of this political crisis.”

Rice held talks with bandit President Mwai Kibaki and was also due to meet his rival, opposition leader and People’s President Raila Odinga, who maintains that thief-in-chief Kibaki won the election through fraud. Kibaki’s team is adamant that their man “won fairly”, and points to the official fraudulent declaration by the disgraced Electoral Commission that he “got more votes”.

A statement from Kibaki’s office after the meeting with Rice said he “once again reaffirmed his commitment to the ongoing national dialogue” being run by Annan. “The president said he will continue looking for an amicable solution to the current political challenges”, it added.

But true to character, Kibaki’s double-speak came through before Rice’s arrival. Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula issued a sharp rebuke for anyone trying to pressure Kenya into a deal. “We encourage our friends to support us and not make any mistake of putting a gun to anybody’s head and saying ‘either/or’, because that cannot work,” he said.

Unfortunately for Wetangula, time for such talk is long gone. He needs to sit back and watch as the US takes control of the process from here on. In other words, ODM and PNU have lost control of the process and must now abide by what America dictates.