Luo-Kalenjin elders meet for peace meeting

 By Kepher Otieno

Luo Council of Elders will be meeting elders from Rift Valley Province to discuss unity starting today.

According to the council’s Deputy Secretary General Adera Osawa, the meeting, to be held in Kisumu, is part of national reconciliation efforts.

"We want to meet with elders from the Kalenjin community to promote mutual understanding and peace between us," said Mr Osawa.

This will be the first in a series of meetings the council of elders has arranged with community elders across the country.

On Sunday, Osawa told The Standard the council intends to use elders’ forums to identify the cause of dissenting voices among Kenyans and find solutions.

Osawa said: "We want to know why Kenyans cannot embrace peace and unity as embodied in the National Anthem. We want to meet with elders in the country and forge unity".

Meanwhile, a Tigania East politician has said the Meru community could support Prime Minister Raila Odinga for the presidency in 2012.

Mr Mpuri Aburi hinted at a possible alliance between Luo and the Meru communities in the run-up to the 2012 General Election.

Reap fruits

Speaking in Nyajanja Secondary School in Rangwe, Aburi stressed the importance of embracing unity as a prerequisite to development.

He asked Kenyans to tolerate one another and leave the kind of hatred that led to ethnic clashes in the past.

The activist took issue with Rift Valley MPs’ opposition to Mau Forest evictions, saying it was wrong to block efforts to save the forest.

"We must disentangle issues of life and death from politics. We must protect our water catchment areas," he said.

Local MP Martin Ogindo said ODM should do all it can to improve relations between the Kalenjin and Luo.

The MP said: "Unless we tread carefully, ODM will not reap big fruits as it did in the 2007 elections".