From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Former six African presidents have called for peaceful and fair freeh presidential poll rerun holding on October 17 in Kenya.
The ex-leaders are Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria), John Kufuor (Ghana), Gontebanye Mogae (Botswana), Benjamin William Mkapa (Tanzania), Mohammed Moncef Marzouki Tunisia and Kglema Petns Motlanth (South Africa).
The appeal 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 yesterday by Obasanjo’s media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi.
The statement said the election and it’s subsequent annulment on September 1, was a watershed in the history of the East African country. They noted that the poll annulment 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 exercise in less than 60 days and immediately after.
The former leaders said while Africa awaits a detailed judgment as promised by the Supreme Court, the two major candidates, Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga should tread cautiously, shun hate speeches and face their respective electioneering campaigns responsibly.
The statement read 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.
“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”.