Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Corruption



After two months of questions about the situation in Kenya and praying for resolution, the power-sharing agreement that was signed last week was beginning to comfort some of the people here and abroad who love Africa and those who live there.

Just today, there is an accusation that the administration of President Kibaki was behind the early conflict that arose after the election in December as reported here by a BBC News undercover officer.

If these allegations are in fact true, this might be looked on as justification for more rioting and killing. However this time, most likely it would be done by other tribes as payback for the previous violence. Even if this is just a rumor, it could have the same effect at if it were true as there is so much corruption and deception among people in power over most all of Africa that many Africans don't trust leaders from another ethnic tribe.

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Agreement



Although controversy has at times surrounded former UN leader Kofi Annan, he has done a great service for the people in Kenya. Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga, the two leaders in Kenya, have now signed a deal for power sharing with the creation the post of Prime Minister to be occupied by Odinga with the Presidency still held by Kibaki. There has been peace in the country for several days and hopes are high that some sense of normalcy will return to Kenya in the future.

This article from BBC News details some of the points of the agreement between Kibaki and Odinga. The proposal contains strict guidelines for both sides that have to be adhered to and it is always possible that either side could walk out of the agreement at sometime in the future, putting everything back in question and leading to another period of unrest.

While this proposal has been signed and everyone looks to be in an agreeable mood at the moment, there is still a long way to go to return Kenya to the stable country that gave it decades of prosperity. Much of the peace in the past had accumulated over 30 years and it could take many years for a complete economic recovery for the people in Kenya.

Please continue with prayers for those who will need time to heal from physical and emotional wounds from the fighting. The latest number of victims are 1500 killed and 600,000 displaced. There is still much for Christians to do in Africa, and Kenya will need the love and peace of Jesus Christ to help move past the events of this election.