From: Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Some former leaders in Africa have called for a peaceful and fair rerun election in the fresh Kenya presidential election coming up next month.
The former leaders who lent their voices to the call were Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, John Kufuor of Ghana, Gontebanye Mogae of Botswana, Benjamin William Mkapa of Tanzania, Mohammed Moncef Marzouki of Tunisia and Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe of South Africa.
The call was contained in a statement titled: “Kenya: A Plea For Peace: Re-Run Presidential Election in October 2017”, jointly signed by the six former presidents and made available to journalists, in Abeokuta, on Tuesday, by Obasanjo’s media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi.
According to them, the election and the subsequent annulment on September 1, was a watershed in the history of the East African country.
They noted that the events, ordinarily, seem innocuous noting anybody conversant with the realities on the ground in Kenya would be
concerned, hence, the need to call for peace in the build-up to the repetition of the Presidential Elections in less than 60 days and immediately after.
The former leaders said while the whole of Africa awaits a detailed judgment as promised by the Supreme Court, the two major players in the Kenyan Presidential poll – Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga – should tread cautiously, shun hate speeches and face their respective electioneering campaigns responsibly.
The statement reads in part: “The travails and trials experienced in watering the soil of democracy should not always be with the blood of the people of
Kenya.
“The praise of International Election Observers of the Kenyan Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IBEC), the country’s
electoral body, after the voting on August 8, 2017, was understandable
based on their observations at the polling stations. The harm seemed
to have been done in the transmission of results.
“The Judiciary lived up to what was expected of it in the Kenya law as a strong institution and a neutral arbiter. The IEBC has started
carrying out the decision of the Supreme Court which we believe will be done to the letter. We appreciate the IEBC in this respect.
“We look forward to a consultative process as the IEBC sets in motion the machinery for what should be a transparently free, fair and credible election.
“While we await a detailed judgment as promised by the Supreme Court, we enjoin the two major players in the Kenyan Presidential poll – Kenyatta and Raila – to tread cautiously, shun hate speeches and face their respective electioneering campaigns responsibly in a manner that would encourage faithful and transparent transmission of the actual
accounts from the polling station”.
“We advise that both the incumbent and challenger should be more circumspect because the election is a means to an end and not the end in itself.
“We plead that the two leaders demonstrably commit themselves to the quest for the welfare of their people who they are canvassing for votes to lead. Successive elections and their aftermath in Kenya have elicited more of hate than love and that is not a tenet to be propagated”.
Meanwhile, the former African leaders, called on the global democrats not to rest on their oars until both leaders accede to tread not only on the path of peace and good conscience, but moral path to govern Kenyans.
“It is imperative that the next election should be seen as free, fair, credible and reflecting the wish and desire of Kenyan people in all
aspects. We also plead that all eyes should be on the IEBC, with all assistance possible, towards an orderly polling and a credible one
that ensures that technology is not manipulated to benefit either candidate.
“In this respect, we call on international organisations to which Kenya belongs and especially the UN, AU, EAC, Commonwealth and IGAD to assist in bolstering the sovereignty of the people of Kenya so
that what IEBC will transmit in the repeated Presidential Election is transparently the wish of the people of Kenya.
“Peace and justice must patently go together and thereby avoid blood-letting in Kenya as a result of elections. People of Kenya must
live in peace, security and harmony after the elections,”. the statement said.