Poor Leadership Behind Kenya Crisis, Museveni Says
The Monitor (Kampala)
By Zephania Ubwani
President Yoweri Museveni yesterday condemned the recent political violence in Kenya and attributed it to poor political leadership and ethnic divisions.
He called on the country’s leaders to find solutions to the crisis through constitutional and political reforms and at the same time agree to the mediation efforts led by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan.
“The recent problems in Kenya, tragic as they were, nevertheless, illustrated short-sighted political architecture,” he said when he addressed the East African Legislative Assembly in Arusha.
He said the post-election violence in Kenya and the concomitant difficulties felt throughout the whole East Africa have shown how the region was vulnerable to such crises.
Without pointing an accusing finger to any leader, President Museveni said the recent violence in Kenya, a partner state within the East African Community, should be blamed on political leaders.
The crisis, he said, has also shown how the Kenyan society was fragmented due to political, ethnic, class and geographical divisions and that leaders should sort out divisions and unite Kenyans.
“The post-election violence in Kenya and the concomitant difficulties throughout the whole region have shown that how a human body part can be independent of the other,” he said.
Mr Museveni, who is the current chairman of the EAC Heads of State Summit, reiterated his call to President Mwai Kibaki and mr Raila Odinga of the opposition ODM to reach an agreement soon in order to save Kenya from the crisis.
He told the fifth meeting of the second EALA that he had been in close contact with both President Kibaki and Mr. Raila and expressed his optimism with the way they were handling the problem with maturity.
“We condemn the violence that took place in Kenya. It was unfair on the affected families and the neighbouring countries. It was ideologically confused,” he stated.
President Museveni said the violence in Kenya which erupted following disputed presidential election results after the December 27 polls, has impacted negatively on the economies of the neighbouring states.
Shortages of goods and transport services were felt immediately in land-locked Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and some parts of northern Tanzania.
Over 1,000 people have been killed, 350,000 displaced and properties worth millions of shillings damaged during a post-election violence.
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