Let Mugabe go smoothly, Kenyan PM urges
Kenyan PM Raila Odinga says the Mugabe-Tsvangirai agreement opens a "window of hope"
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Wednesday, 23, Jul 2008 10:26
Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe should be allowed to step down from power without reprisals from the opposition, the prime minister of Kenya has urged.
Raila Odinga, addressing a Chatham House audience in the House of Commons, said he believed agreement for talks between Mr Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party represented a "new window of hope" for Zimbabwe.
But he called for a "smooth exit for Mugabe" despite describing the leader as one of the "relics of yesterday that still cling to power".
"For the sake of the people of Zimbabwe, we must give Mugabe a safe exit," he pressed.
Mr Odinga reaffirmed his stance as an outspoken critic of the African Union's position on Mr Mugabe, accusing it of having "singularly failed" to either criticise Zimbabwe or make demands.
That is "not surprising", he added, when you look at the credentials of some of those there.
Mr Odinga, leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) in Kenya, was appointed prime minister after narrowly losing a disputed presidential election runoff held on December 27th last year.
Post-election violence left at least 1,500 dead and only mediation talks chaired by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan persuaded incumbent president Mwai Kibaki to accept Mr Odinga's establishment in a newly created prime minister's office.
Mr Odinga, on a visit to Britain to encourage UK investors to return to his country, said it was not legitimate to compare his experience with that of Zimbabwe opposition figurehead Morgan Tsvangirai.
The disastrous state of Zimbabwe's economy, the lack of a link between the military and government in Kenya and its "well-conducted" elections mean "Kenya does not provide a blueprint for Zimbabwe", he insisted.
"We are dealing with the issues that took us to the precipice. What we've been through was probably a blessing in disguise," he finished.
"Tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today. That is what we are doing in Kenya."
Mr Odinga remained optimistic about the state of democracy in Africa overall, however, pointing to places like Botswana and Senegal as examples of positive progress.
He described democracy as being "in vogue", a comment questioned by Chatham House associate fellow Daniel Balint-Kurti.
"To say that Africa as a whole is progressing towards democracy, personally I think that's questionable," he said.
"What's interesting is that he's standing up for Tsvangirai but he's not adopting a no compromise position. It's still quite a pro-Tsvangirai position but it's still in some respects quite moderate," he explained.
"It shows a large degree of pragmatism. The question is, will Zanu-PF be willing to relinquish power?"