President Kibaki Grateful To President Kufuor

The Kenyan President, Mwai Kibaki on Wednesday said he was grateful to President John Agyekum Kufuor for intervening in his country's post-election violence and also for initiating the African Union Mediation under the former UN Secretary General, Busumuru Kofi Annan. A statement signed by Andrew Awuni, Press Secretary to the President and Presidential Spokesman quoted President Mwai Kibaki as saying: "I wish to thank you most sincerely for your timely response in honouring a recent invitation to my country following the post-election violence in which you initiated the African Union Mediation under former UN Secretary General, (Busumuru) Kofi Annan." The statement said the mediation process in Kenya had successfully reached an agreement on the principles of forming a coalition government that would provide a durable political settlement in Kenya. It said that the cordial relationship that existed between Ghana and Kenya would be further solidified for the benefit of the peoples of the two countries and also congratulated President Kufuor and the people Ghana on the occasion of the country's 51st Anniversary as well the successful hosting of the 26th African Cup of Nations. President Kufuor travelled to Kenya at the invitation of President Kibaki and Raila Odinga, Leader of the opposition party, to help to find a solution to the post-election violence that erupted in that country. During the visit, the President got the two sides in the impasse to agree to the setting up of a mediation panel of Eminent African Personalities headed by Busumuru Annan with Madam Gracia Machel, wife of former South African President, Mr Nelson Mandela and Benjamin Mkapa, former President of Tanzania as members. Kenya, East Africa's economic powerhouse, was plunged into political turmoil as protests over Mr Kibaki's re-election snowballed into a nasty ethnic clashes that had killed more than a thousand and displaced tens of thousands of people.