Civil society groups push for AU’s intervention
It took the intervention of the civil society and other groups to have the Kenyan post-poll crisis on the agenda of the African Union (AU) council of ministers and Heads of States meetings. The groups had to use their connections lobbying with various embassies, including Senegal’s and Mali’s, to persuade the 53-nation Union to discuss the unprecedented crisis.
A human rights lawyer, Mr Haroun Ndubi, said their action was necessary after it emerged the Government delegation downplayed the issue and packaged it as a two-community feud. Addressing a Civil Society Congress in Nairobi, Ndubi said: “We made it known that the Government delegation decided to downplay the crisis and packaged it as a problem between two communities.”
AU summits have been regularly dominated by Darfur, Somalia and other chronic conflicts, with Kenya seen as a stable peacemaker rather than cause for concern. ODM had cautioned that the credibility of AU would be thrown into jeopardy if it recognised the Kibaki Government. Kibaki left for the Addis Ababa Summit on Thursday.
Though the Union can take socio-political actions against its members, it lacks mechanisms to force rogue regimes to obey its decisions. The Congress heard that the solution to the crisis lies in a comprehensive constitutional dispensation and faulted the idea of a military rule. Military coming in, the Congress heard, was scary as the force is not known to uphold democracy.
Some speakers proposed that MPs contribute 25 per cent of their salaries to reconstruction exercise, claiming they contributed to the mess during campaigns. Ndubi called for electoral justice and commitment in solving the political impasse so as to reinstate the dignity of voting. Though supporting the mediation headed by former UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, he said that the team was devoid of the face of the citizen. “They have been talking about PNU and ODM, where is the citizen, who represents them?” he posed.
East African Standard
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