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Don’t faint! A power sharing agreement has been signed! The President will share his power with a Prime Minister (Raila Odinga), 50/50. The constitution will be changed and there will be a President, vice President, Prime Minister and two vice Prime Ministers. I don’t know what has been going on behind the scenes to pull off this miracle but we’re rejoicing!
I popped down to the local shop and the place was buzzing with excitement. Shop staff and customers all crowded round the TV and we heard Kofi Annan say: ‘Let peace and reconciliation begin in Kenya today’ I felt the prickly sensation of tears behind my eyes and goose bumps all over my skin. Relief and smiles all round.
Now we will no longer have to watch the local news compulsively like our lives and futures depend on it, or dread radio broadcasts that report on further deaths and outbreaks of violence. Perhaps I can guiltlessly flick through Hello and OK in a mood of escapism and not feel I must feverishly summarise daily headlines and commentary in Nation and the Standard newspapers.
Our housekeeper said that it must have been the Americans who changed Kibaki’s mind and persuaded him to share power: ‘This Kibaki, I think he thought they would hang him like Sadaam!’