Any outside attempt to force through a political deal in Kenya would be a mistake and the solution to the post-election crisis lies with Kenyans, Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said on Sunday. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due in Nairobi on Monday to support mediation efforts led by former UN chief Kofi Annan.
"We encourage our friends to support us and not to make any mistake of putting a gun to anybody's head and saying 'either-or' because that cannot work," Wetangula told reporters. Annan is trying to end a dispute over President Mwai Kibaki's re-election that erupted into bloodshed, killing 1,000 people and leaving 300,000 homeless.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga says he was robbed of victory by his former ally Kibaki. Kibaki maintains he won the December 27 vote fairly. The crisis affecting an ally in the West's fight to counter al Qaeda has dented Kenya's democratic credentials, driven tourists away and disrupted supplies of food and fuel to countries in the region.
A survey in the Sunday Nation said 61.3 percent of Kenyans favour a "grand coalition", an idea advocated by Annan. Of those, 31.3 percent said it would resolve the political crisis because power would be shared equally. Of the 38.7 percent against a grand coalition, 23.3 percent said it would not work because both parties were power-hungry. A further 20.2 percent said the differences between Kibaki and Odinga would make it impossible for them to work together.
US officials have threatened to sanction any individuals seeking to obstruct peace moves. Earlier this month, Washington threatened to bar entry to the United States to eight unnamed politicians and business leaders accused of stoking violence.
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