Five days after President Mwai Kibaki unexpectedly defeated Raila Odinga, ethnic violence continues to ravage the country and its attorney general has called for an independent verification of the vote tallies. Archbishop Desmond Tutu has gone to Kenya to help mediate the explosive situation, which has turned the generally stable nation on its ear.
CNN reports (story here):
The crowds were gathering as Archbishop Desmond Tutu began meeting with opposition officials, including Odinga, in an effort to mediate the election dispute.
“We’ve come to express our solidarity with the people of Kenya to express our sympathy at the carnage that has happened, hoping that we will be able to encourage the leadership to take action that would stop that carnage,” Tutu said.
It was not immediately clear if the Nobel laureate would also talk with Kibaki’s party. A government spokesman said a meeting could be arranged with Tutu if it would help with the process.
NPR has a good recap of the situation in Kenya so far here.