NAIROBI (AFP) — African Union chief John Kufuor shuttled between Kenyan leaders Wednesday to try to resolve political deadlock following post-election violence that left 600 dead and displaced a quarter of a million.
President Mwai Kibaki, whose re-election 11 days ago triggered the unrest, denied there was any national crisis after a first meeting with Kufuor.
"Kibaki insisted that the country is not in a crisis and the government is operational," an official at the president's office told AFP.
Kibaki then travelled to western Kenya to visit displaced victims of recent clashes before meeting Kufuor again in Nairobi late Wednesday.
Kufuor, the president of Ghana, spent several hours in separate talks with opposition leader Raila Odinga, who claims he was robbed of victory in the December 27 election.
"We discussed every issue. We put all our cards on the table," said Salim Lone, Odinga's spokesman, afterwards.
Odinga refuses to recognise Kibaki's legitimacy, alleging widespread fraud in the polls including a rigged vote count.
Despite huge international pressure, the two rivals have still not met face-to-face since Kibaki was sworn in on December 30.
The top US envoy to Africa Jendayi Frazer had been heading diplomatic efforts in Kenya until Kufuor's arrival. In the Comoros on a one-day visit Wednesday, she said the AU chief "brings the type of leadership and the type of sensible diplomacy that would be necessary" to help resolve the crisis.
However, Kufuor's mission was complicated after a defiant Kibaki unveiled a partial cabinet of 17 ministers Tuesday, which Odinga rejected and opposition supporters met with violent protests.
The "partially formed government would continue to reach out to Kenyan leaders," Kibaki's office said in a statement Wednesday.
The United States, a key Kenya ally and donor, expressed disappointment at the announcement.
"Overall, it would have been better if he (Kibaki) had not done this," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington.
But he added: "He's now come back after we've spoken with him ... and he was able to clarify not only for us but for the Kenyan people and Mr. Odinga the reason behind this action and that's very positive."
"He clarified that this was meant only to keep the government up and running."
EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel told reporters in Brussels: "I urge President Kibaki to understand the depth of the problem in his country and accept mediation with the leader of the opposition."
He also demanded that Kufour be able to conduct "a real job of mediation".
Kibaki meanwhile met thousands of displaced people in and around the western town of Eldoret, one of the worst hit areas in the violence that followed his re-election.
He appealed to the displaced, mainly from his own Kikuyu tribe, not to seek revenge after the tribal attacks that drove them from their homes.
"I ask you, do not revenge ... forgive them and then we will track them down," Kibaki said to enthusiastic applause.
He urged them to remain in the area, after thousands fled to neighbouring Uganda.
Kibaki's cabinet announcement set off protests in the western city and ODM stronghold of Kisumu, where police said officers fired into the air to disperse up to 300 young demonstrators who had blocked a road with bonfires.
Hundreds of people also fled a Kisumu slum after renewed fears of violence, a local police commander said.
Elsewhere, Maasai tribesmen killed two people in Naivasha in protest at Kibaki's disputed re-election, witnesses and police said.
Kibaki's cabinet line-up handed most posts to members of his party, although Kalonzo Musyoka, a minor presidential candidate, was named as vice president, and another member of Kalonzo's party was named information minister.
The crisis has damaged Kenya's reputation as a haven of security in an unstable region of Africa and hurt economic sectors including tourism and tea.
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