The Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, has met the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, in public for the first time since last year’s disputed elections, with the pair promising to heal the country’s divisions. Calling each other “brother”, they announced a plan for a programme to overcome deep and longstanding ethnic and political divides, but provided few details of what it might involve. The US has been urging direct talks between Kenyatta and Odinga to resolve the political strife. Kenyatta and Odinga met publicly at a funeral service where they shook hands earlier this year, but they did not have talks. For many observers, the historical divisions between the Kenyatta and Odinga dynasties and the ethnic groups they represent cloud the promise of Kenya’s democracy.

Source: The Guardian March 09, 2018 12:15 UTC