AFRICA/KENYA - The door of dialogue is still open” local Church source tells Fides after mission of mediation by African Union president ends

Nairobi (Agenzia Fides)- “The door is not closed, it is still open, even though the mission of the international mediator cannot be called a success. But the situation is complex and cannot be solved in a few days” said a local Catholic source in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, following the conclusion of a mission by John Kufuor head of the African Union who is president of Ghana.
Kufuor failed to convince President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga to meet as planned on Friday 11 January. President Kibaki left the door open but Odinga, who does not recognise Kibaki as Kenya's legitimate head of State, said he would only meet him in the presence of the international mediator.
“Kufuor's mission was difficult but at least he did manage to keep the door open for dialogue and pave the way for future talks ” the source told Fides.
Before leaving Nairobi the President of Ghana announced agreement reached by the parties: to continue dialogue, to stop interethnic violence in which 600 people died in recent weeks, to form of a team of leading African personalities, presided by former UN secretary general Ghanaian Kofi Annan to continue the work of mediation started by Kufuor.
The presidency and the opposition accuse one another of failing to cooperate with the mediation of the Ghanian president. The opposition announced more protests but a spokesman of the party of Odinga, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) welcomed negotiation efforts by Annan: “We want this mediation in the hope that a power sharing agreement can be reached”.
With regard to mediation in the future, the local Church source said: “The points to be settled are constitutional reforms and the future of Kibaki's new government: will the Opposition accept to be part of it or will the country be ruled by a transition government pending new elections?”.
In the meantime initiatives for peace are being organised in various parts of the country. Besides a national Day of Prayer for Peace organised by the local Catholic Church on January 20, (see Fides 10/1/2008), the Comboni missionaries with leading members of other Christian denominations and local Muslim leaders organised a peace rally in Koroghocho slum one of the poorest areas of Nairobi. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 11/1/2008 righe 33 parole 430)