US fears for Kenya Coalition

A senior Washington official on Tuesday said the US government feared for the stability of Kenya’s Coalition, and asked President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to move to implement the National Accord.

Mr Johnnie Carson, the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, expressed the concerns during discussions with Mr Odinga on Tuesday.

He was accompanied by Ms Michelle D. Gavin, a special assistant to President Barack Obama and senior director for African Affairs at the White House.

However, Mr Odinga assured the officials that the coalition was putting in place institutions that would deliver in critical areas like constitutional, judicial and police reforms in about a year.

Poll chaos suspects

The Prime Minister said that, in the next three months, the taskforce on police reforms would table its proposals, which would be implemented immediately.

He said the government planned to take the Special Tribunal Bill to the House in the next two months to determine whether post-election violence suspects would be tried locally or at The Hague.

Mr Carson, a former US ambassador in Nairobi, told the Prime Minister that there were “enormous concerns” in Washington that the Coalition appeared lethargic, and that the Accord was not being implemented fully.

“Washington’s fear is that failure to implement the Accord could undermine Kenya’s political stability,” Mr Carson said.

The diplomat said Washington was concerned by the spate of extrajudicial killings and the absence of punishment.
He asked the government to implement critical reforms that to ensure that the country did not experience violence again.
“You know how strongly people feel about Kenya. If there is another crisis here, it would be enormously devastating. If the country does not make economic progress, there could be more violence in the next elections,” he said.

He said Mr Odinga had a long history of fighting for democracy and serving jail terms for his beliefs, and asked him to stand up for Kenyans.

Very concerned

Ms Gavin said she discussed Kenya with President Obama last Friday. Mr Obama “is very concerned about the situation in Kenya,” she said.

“President Obama asked me to relay his message to the government that he is keen to see reforms in Kenya and that Washington will not do business as usual with Kenya.”

Mr Carson also held talks with President Kibaki. The President briefed him on the workings and achievements of the Grand Coalition Government which, he said, had firmly put the country on the path of comprehensive reforms.

President Kibaki informed Mr Carson that the committee of experts on the constitution had begun its work as the country sought to have a new constitution.

The President also noted that he had gazetted the appointment of members of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission that is critical in the country’s attempts to reform the electoral process.

And speaking later at the US ambassador’s residence, Mr Carson said it was up to Kenyans to find solutions for their political problems. He said the US regarded Kenya as the most important country in the region.

“It is no accident that this was my first stop as Assistant Secretary of State,” he said.

(PMPS and PPS. Additional reporting by Henry Owuor)