Kenya's Kibaki attends AU summit in Ethiopia

Kenyan leaders finally reached an agreement that ended the unrest since the December 27 vote

While Kenyan police battle to quell the ongoing violence, President Mwai Kibaki is in Ethiopia attending the African Union (AU) Heads of State summit.

Earlier this week, Kenya's opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) called on the AU not to recognise Kibaki saying he's an illegitimate President.

Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma says it is an issue that will be discussed by the leaders, as the AU does not yet have a convention that guides the union on such issues.

Dlamini-Zuma says: "It is one of those of issues that I think the AU will need to tackle because we have a clear rule about people who have taken power through unconstitutional means, and here it is kind of a grey area. I think it's an area that our heads will have to discuss because we do not have a proper clear cut convention on how to deal with this."

Meanwhile, South Africa has condemned the killings and is now calling for an investigation. But the AU leaders find themselves in an awkward position. Today, Kenya's Kibaki is among the leaders due to deliver the country's plan of action to the African Peer Review Mechanism Panel.

He is also expected to attend the AU Summit which starts tomorrow. The opposition ODM says he should not even be at the summit, as he is an illegitimate President.

Division on the Kenya issue
It's believed the executive council of Ministers - which met over the past two day - is divided on how to deal with the Kenyan issue.

"We got a briefing from the Kenyan minister, but basically this matter is going to be a substantive matter for discussion. We are waiting for the report from the team that is there and that report will then be tabled and then a discussion will take place. There's a lot of concern from all of us about the situation in Kenya...," says Dlamini-Zuma.

There are calls for the AU leaders to take strong action to help resolve the crisis and the main protagonists to put an end to the killings.

"I think one way that Raila would have helped us move ahead as Kenyans and even in terms of the governance agenda on this continent is to insist on the constitutional means, in terms of these complaints but number two to also insist on impartial processes of dealing with contestations of the election.

"I think that is one thing. It is true that the ECK in Kenya did not do us any favours about the announcements and the uncertainties in that process, but it is also true that every democracy on this continent is fragile...," says Monica Juma, the executive director at Africa policy institute.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan believes he can secure some kind of deal in four weeks in Kenya. But Annan and his mediation team may have to remain engaged with this crisis for at least another year. - Reuters