US envoy to meet Kenya leaders over reforms

A representative of the US Government will soon meet President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to push for a quick solution to the impasse that threatens to split the Coalition Government.   

Addressing a news conference in Nairobi Friday, US ambassador Michael Ranneberger joined his German counterpart Walter Lindner in calling for the two leaders to agree on much needed reforms.

Mr Ranneberger said he would “soon” be meeting both President Kibaki and Mr Odinga with a view to having them agree to focus on the implementation of reforms.

He added that US President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were “watching closely the situation” and could intervene to prevent its escalation.

Mr Lindner asked politicians to “tone down” on their language and instead “work on important issues.”

“The art of politics in a democracy is to reach a compromise, not to continue pulling apart over trivial differences... when many key issues remain unsolved,” he said.

The German envoy said that it was upon the coalition management committee to privately iron out the “honest differences”.

“Such teams are there to solve problems, not to create them by shouting in public,” Mr Lindner said.

The two envoys said it was wrong for the church and the civil society to call for snap elections, even as the government seems reluctant to implement key reforms.

Also, they asked ODM not to go ahead with the public rallies as this would further polarise the country.

They termed the calls for elections as “a recipe for sending the country back to ethnic chaos” saying it was time for the President and the PM to “honour their word and deliver on reforms.”

“Just because the coalition government is the most viable option that does not mean it’s an excuse for inaction,” the US envoy said. 

Lately, Cabinet ministers have been saying that ‘a coalition is hard to manage’ to explain the government’s complacency in implementing police, land and Judicial reforms, as well as the constant public bickering.

“I care less about the small issues like salaries and protocol... it is time for them to focus on real issues like extrajudicial killings that have attracted global attention,” the US ambassador said.

The two defended themselves over claims that they favoured one side of the coalition, saying both PNU and ODM share equal blame for the problems affecting the country.