Annan arrives in Kenya to mediate deadly dispute over election
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The former UN chief was due to hold talks Wednesday to mediate the deadly dispute over Kenya's presidential election, and the opposition said it was willing to reconsider plans for protest rallies this week.
Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will try to bring President Mwai Kibaki and his main challenger, Raila Odinga, together after a Dec. 27 election that foreign observers say was deeply flawed. Some 685 people have been killed in an explosion of postelection riots and ethnic fighting.
"I am confident that, in this crucial endeavor, we can count on the will, maturity, resourcefulness and judgment of the leaders," Annan said late Tuesday, adding that a solution must be found "for the sake of Kenya and its people and for the sake of Africa."