President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed former National Assembly speaker Kenneth Marende to lead peace talks on war-torn Central African Republic. Mr Marende was appointed last month to head ongoing negotiations under the auspices of the African Union (AU). He is being assisted by Lieutenant-General (retired) Njuki Mwaniki. Mr Marendes new assignment comes months after he publicly expressed willingness to work with the Jubilee administration. Sources say the two Kenyan envoys earlier this month separately met warring factions from CAR in Nairobi and Congo Brazaville to agree on rules of engagement. The development will certainly ruffle feathers within the opposition Cord, given the fact that Mr Marende was supported by ODM, an affiliate party of the coalition, in 2007 to become the Speaker. Earlier in the year Mr Marende was being touted as the possible replacement of former Industrialisation Minister Henry Kosgey as ODM party chairman, an offer he declined. He also made an attempt at defending his speakers seat last year, losing to Mr Justin Muturi, who garnered 219 votes compared to 129 MPs who voted for Marende. The mediation team will be submitting periodic reports of progress to AU offices in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as well as to Deputy President William Samoei Ruto on behalf of President Kenyatta.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 08:26:53 +0000
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