Kikwete urges Kenyans to unite ahead of polls

Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete on Sunday said Kenyans should be allowed to elect leaders in the next General Election without undue interference.

Mr Kikwete also urged African states to accept the decision that Kenyans will make in the elections.

Mr Kikwete was speaking after meeting a Kenyan delegation comprising of Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa in State House, Dar es Salaam.

The leaders praised the close ties between Kenya and Tanzania as President Kikwete stressed on the need for unity in Kenya ahead of the next General Election.

He recognized the constitutional and institutional reforms that have taken place since the last General Election, saying Kenya was all set for elections.

The delegation recalled and appreciated the role President Kikwete, who was then the chairman of the African Union, played in reconciling Kenyans in the aftermath of the post-election violence.

The violence culminated in the formation of the Grand Coalition Government between President Kibaki’s Party of National Unity (PNU) and Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).

On his part, Mr Kenyatta said his goal and that of like-minded leaders was to move the country forward in unity.

To this end, he said, they were reaching out to leaders in other political parties.

The Kenyan delegation also included MPs Moses ole Sakuda and Rachel Shebesh, former MP Abdullahi Ibrahim Ali and URP’s Kazungu Kambi.

Also present was the Kenyan High Commissioner to Tanzania, Mr Mutinda Mutiso.