Annan flies in to add pressure for reforms

• Mediator comes in when key leaders are anxious on visa ban and violence trials

Mediator Kofi Annan flew into the country at 7.20pm on Sunday for a four-day visit likely to pile even more pressure on the government over reforms.

Mr Annan is expected to pressure Kenyan leaders to speed up the pace of reforms, a key pillar of which is the trial of those who bear the greatest responsibility for the violence that claimed more than 1,000 lives early last year following disputed presidential elections.

Electoral cycle

He said the country had no option but to institute all reforms in the next one year, adding that it would be dangerous for Kenya to “enter the next electoral cycle” without reforms.

“With a sense of urgency and national spirit, it can be done and within a reasonable time,” Mr Annan said outside the Serena hotel.

“Kenya leaders must listen to the voices of the people, and this is what I will tell the two principals and other political leaders,” he said.

The former UN secretary-general arrived as the government continues to face immense international pressure — including travel ban threats — over the pace of reforms.

There is also anxiety in official circles on the expected visit of International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who is believed to be readying the ground for arrest and trial of some Cabinet ministers and other key planners and financiers of post-election violence.

Mr Annan will meet President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga in their respective offices before the three retreat for a private lunch meeting at midday.

He will meet Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka before the lunch meeting and Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo later in the day.

On Tuesday, the former UN chief will engage ministers, NGOs, religious groups and the business sector on the progress made in the reforms especially those under Agenda Four.

Mr Annan comes to Kenya at a time when debate on trials at The Hague for those behind the post-poll violence is raging on. Discussions with the principals will include what steps the country will take after failing to meet the September 30 deadline to set up a local tribunal.

Historical injustices

Mr Moreno-Ocampo has said he wants to consult with the President and the PM on the way forward after the government failed to meet the deadline agreed on for a local special tribunal.

Besides the search for justice, Mr Annan is expected to engage the country’s leadership on the slow pace of reforms envisaged under Agenda Four of the National Accord. The agenda deals with legal and institutional reforms, land reforms, historical injustices, poverty and inequality.