USA Concern Over Kenya

Frazer’s full statement on situation Publication Date: 1/13/2008

The United States strongly supports a political resolution to the post-electoral crisis in Kenya. That is why Secretary of State Rice sent me to Kenya. We favoured no side during the electoral contest. We supported efforts to carry out transparent and fair elections. The generally peaceful and orderly voting process, and the record voter turnout, was a triumph for the Kenyan people, but the serious flaws in the vote tallying process damaged the credibility of the process.

At that point Kenyan institutions failed the Kenyan people. During intensive rounds of meetings with President Kibaki, Raila Odinga, their respective teams, and a wide range of other actors over the past week I have emphasised the urgency of achieving a political settlement, and I have sought to encourage and facilitate dialogue. We strongly support the efforts of President Kufuor, Chairman of the African Union, to bring the two sides together to facilitate a political settlement. The post-electoral crisis can only be resolved through a Kenyan solution. President Kufuor, the United States, and other friends of Kenya can, however, help the two sides overcome deep-seated mistrust and enter into a serious dialogue.

We welcome, in that regard, the willingness of both sides to engage with the African Eminent Persons who will soon visit Kenya, led by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan. We are also prepared to witness the results of any settlement in order to reassure both sides that any agreement will actually be implemented. Although we welcome the fact that both sides have indicated their commitment to dialogue and to ending violence, we are deeply disappointed that they have not been able to reach agreement on the modalities for direct discussions.
In our view, it is imperative for President Kibaki and Raila Odinga to sit together directly and without preconditions to discuss how to end the post-electoral crisis in a way that reflects the will of the Kenyan people.

Both should acknowledge serious irregularities in the vote tallying which made it impossible to determine with certainty the final result, and both must take forthright steps to end violence and ensure respect for the rule of law consistent with respect for human rights. This particularly includes restoration of media freedom and freedom of peaceful assembly. We believe the Kenyan people have made clear that the way forward must embrace equitable power-sharing, an end to violence, reconciliation, and agreement on a specific agenda for constitutional and electoral reform. In the meantime, the United States cannot conduct business as usual in Kenya.

The Kenyan people recognise that the post-electoral crisis has revealed longstanding problems that must not be ignored. As a close friend and partner of Kenya, the United States will remain intensively engaged to help encourage resolution of the post-electoral crisis. We are convinced that Kenyans will achieve this, and that the country will emerge out of this crisis a stronger and more just democratic society.