AU Chairman Leaves For Kenya

President Kibaki's Special Envoy, Mr Moses Wetangula, was in Ghana at the weekend to invite the AU Chairman, H.E. President Kufuor to visit Kenya

The African Union Chairman, President J.A. Kuffuor, has left Accra this morning for Nairobi, Kenya, at the invitation of President Mwai Kibaki, to mediate in Kenya's post election conflict.

President Kuffuor is expected to hold meetings with president Kibaki and Raila Odinga, the leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), the main opposition party, in attempt to resolve the contentions of the two sides.

The President would be accompanied by senior officials of the presidency including Mr Kwasi Osei Adjei, Minister for Foreign Affairs, NEPAD and Regional Co-operation.

Last Saturday, President Kibaki sent a special envoy, Mr Moses Wetangula, to brief President Kuffuor in developments in Kenya and conveyed an invitation to President Kuffuor to visit Kenya to obtain first hand information on the political situation on that country and to find solution to the conflict.

President Kibaki was proclaimed winner in the Kenya general election on December 27, 2007 but Mr Odinga challenged the results, claiming that the election was rigged. An ensuing violence has claimed the lives of more than 300 people and displaced some 70,000 others.

The political development in Kenya is hurting the economies of other Eastern African Countries which depend on Kenya for some essential services. But there appears to be a glimmer as President Kibaki and Mr Odinga have both indicated their preparedness to use dialogue to resolve the conflict.