Let’s be proud of Kenya’s rise from ashes, Kufuor says

Former President John Kufuor has said Africa must be proud of Kenya for its ability to rise from the ashes of political turmoil following post-2007 election violence, which almost reduced the East African country to smithereens.

“We should be proud to identify ourselves with Kenya rising again,” the former Ghanaian President stated.

About 1,300 Kenyans were killed after the 2007 elections in that country in December after a dispute over the results.

Kufuor, a Former AU Chair who mediated the crisis with former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the time, made the commendation when he accepted an invitation from the Nations Media Group to address the Second Kenyan Governors’ Summit slated for February 26 -27, in the Kenyan fresh water lake city of Naivasha.

The Annual Summit is an innovation by the Group, the largest independent media house in East and Central Africa, to offer an opportunity for Kenyan governors to examine how much progress they had made under their new Constitution, which was promulgated in 2010, following the peaceful resolution of their electoral dispute; which erupted in 2006, leading to violence and loss of several human lives.

Mr Linus W. Gitahi, Nations Media Group Chief Executive Officer, who was in Accra on Monday to formally invite former President Kufuor to the Summit, explained that the 2010 Kenyan Constitution established 47 county governments, of which they unanimously selected the former President as the Special Guest Speaker for the Summit.

Mr Gitahi further explained that the decision by the governors to select former President Kufuor, was based on the fact that during his tenure as Chairman of the Africa Union (AU), he played a very critical role in resolving the Kenyan electoral violence.

“There is a new constitution now in place since 2010, and I think it is a great opportunity; and is almost a homecoming for him to come back and see the whole structure that is now working, and he may start challenging us on all-inclusiveness,” he said.

He said the former President would have the opportunity to interact with the governors and share his rich experience with them.

Former President Kufuor recounted how as the AU Chairman, duty called on him to see to the resolution of the Kenyan electoral dispute, by putting in place a Panel of Eminent African Personalities, which included Mr Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Benjamin Mkapa, former President of Tanzania, and Graca Michel of Mozambique.