Why Annan May Fail and Succeed Simultaneously

The arrival of former UN Secretary General in Kenya has many breathing cautious sighs of relief. However, the Alternative View is that this is all hype.

Raila and Kibaki do not need Annan, Mrs Mandela or President Museveni to sit down and talk. If they needed any motivation, the senseless murder of hundreds of Kenyans and the displacement of millions are more than adequate. As we have previously argued, that it should take threats of sanctions, numerous visits by international mediators to tell us to stop butchering one another or destroying the economy, is a severe indictment of our political elite. It calls into question our collective maturity as a nation.

Assume, purely for the sake of argument that Annan achieves a feat that others have failed- get Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki to not only shake hands, but even to sit and talk. Let's go even further and assume the two pledge to end the violence and "work together". So what? Would that assure that marauding youth in Kisumu would not torch businesses and send members of some ethnic communities running for dear life? Or would that restore the vote that was allegedly stolen from Raila?

Our View here is that Kenya and Kenyans have lost to a point of no return. Confidence in our institutions has been shattered, tribal animosities have been reawakened, trust in our leaders has eroded. The country is now a shell.

I mourn for our beloved country.