Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament says Tuesday’s ceremony pronouncing Raila Odinga as President of Kenya is unacceptable.
Frank Annoh Dompreh, who is also MP for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, says the action by Kenya’s opposition is out of place and should not be tolerated in the body politics of Africa.
He has called on the leadership of the African Union to exhibit leadership in resolving the crisis before it gets out of hand.
“Kenya has once experienced a very volatile situation they have the potential of revisiting same. I dare say that unless we act quickly and swiftly the situation will [escalate].
“Let us add diplomacy in dealing with it. If diplomacy fails I will support any decision to move in the whole Africa force to restore law and order. We can’t allow this to happen,”Dompreh said.
Raila Odinga, who boycotted the country’s disputed election last year, swore himself in as the “people’s president” at a mock inauguration ceremony Tuesday in protest against President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Thousands of opposition supporters gathered at Uhuru Park in central Nairobi, chanting slogans and waving tree branches at the symbolic “swearing-in” event, which was organized by Odinga’s National Super Alliance (NASA).
Commenting on the development, Mr Dompreh said if the situation in Kenya is not handled well, it will set a bad precedent for other African countries.
He told Joy News that Mr Odinga should explore all legal means both internal and external to dealing with any issues he had with the elections rather than allowing himself to be sworn in as a parallel president.
He urged Kenya’s opposition leader to learn from Ghana’s experience and work on electoral reforms to ensure fairness and transparency in the election processes.
“I sense danger in Kenya and it has a potential of spreading to other neighbouring East African countries and also the potential of other prospective African leaders taking a cue in the negative [move] and replicating same in other jurisdiction.
“Africa has come of age so we cannot allow this to be happening to us,” Annoh Dompreh added.
Source:myjoyonline.com