News / National
Starling U-turn by fiery Raila Odinga on Mugabe
03 May 2011 at 05:15hrs | Views
Addressing journalists after paying a courtesy call on President Mugabe at State House in Harare, Kenyan Prime Minister, Raila Odinga said the issue of governing Zimbabwe was for Zimbabweans.
"The issue (inclusive Government) is for Zimbabweans," he said after being asked to comment on the Zimbabwean Government.
Mr Odinga has previously attacked President Mugabe at one time describing him as a "dictator".
The Kenyan PM, who has been critical of Zimbabwe, once said the country was headed for civil unrest in December 2008.
The former Kenyan opposition leader also called for Western military aggression on Zimbabwe.
However, Mr Odinga, who met President Mugabe for more than an hour, later mellowed his stance, saying Zimbabwe and Kenya shared similar histories.
"I have had a very fruitful meeting with His Excellency and passed warm greetings from his counterpart, President Mwai Kibaki.
"We also took the opportunity to compare notes on Zimbabwe and Kenya. We share a common colonial legacy, liberation struggle and post-independence situations," he said.
President Kibaki and Mr Odinga in April 2008 unveiled a power-sharing government aimed at ending a long-running political crisis sparked by disputed elections. PM Odinga and President Kibaki went into government and stopped widespread post-election violence, believed to have been ignited by the opposition, claiming about 2 000 lives.
Seven months later, Zimbabwean political parties, Zanu-PF, MDC-T and MDC signed the Global Political Agreement leading to the formation of the inclusive Government in February 2009.
"We share the same experiences, especially on the decisions to make coalition governments.
"We are slightly ahead of Zimbabwe, especially on the constitution-making process, but we have some issues we can share although the situations can never be the same," he said.
"The issue (inclusive Government) is for Zimbabweans," he said after being asked to comment on the Zimbabwean Government.
Mr Odinga has previously attacked President Mugabe at one time describing him as a "dictator".
The Kenyan PM, who has been critical of Zimbabwe, once said the country was headed for civil unrest in December 2008.
The former Kenyan opposition leader also called for Western military aggression on Zimbabwe.
However, Mr Odinga, who met President Mugabe for more than an hour, later mellowed his stance, saying Zimbabwe and Kenya shared similar histories.
"We also took the opportunity to compare notes on Zimbabwe and Kenya. We share a common colonial legacy, liberation struggle and post-independence situations," he said.
President Kibaki and Mr Odinga in April 2008 unveiled a power-sharing government aimed at ending a long-running political crisis sparked by disputed elections. PM Odinga and President Kibaki went into government and stopped widespread post-election violence, believed to have been ignited by the opposition, claiming about 2 000 lives.
Seven months later, Zimbabwean political parties, Zanu-PF, MDC-T and MDC signed the Global Political Agreement leading to the formation of the inclusive Government in February 2009.
"We share the same experiences, especially on the decisions to make coalition governments.
"We are slightly ahead of Zimbabwe, especially on the constitution-making process, but we have some issues we can share although the situations can never be the same," he said.
Source - Byo24News
