‘President’s camp was opposed to the power sharing deal’

The Chief Mediator Kofi Annan was increasingly getting impatient with the team. Enraged, he hatched an idea — he decided to "condemn" the team to seclusion, at Kilaguni Lodge, Tsavo National Park. There, he hoped members of the negotiating team would operate freely and undisturbed, away from the people.

"I sent them on the retreat, so they could relax, breathe free air without people calling them from the ministries and all that. Each time they said ‘we need to consult’, I expected them to come back with some wise positions, but they came empty-handed," Annan is quoted in the interview.

He is, however, convinced that some members were playing for time because they were opposed to the power-sharing notion.

"They really didn’t want to give him (Raila) anything at all. So by pretending that everything should be within the Constitution, you can’t touch the Constitution, they wanted the President to conserve all his power and prerogatives," he says.

Kilaguni accordingly flopped and the chief negotiator sought an appointment with the President to explain his predicament. He wanted to do it in the presence of the Serena Team but Kibaki brought the whole Cabinet there.

He said in their presence: "Mr President, some of your people think the panel is biased. We are not biased, but the others do their homework."

They put forward their ideas and proposals. Your side produces nothing. They keep repeating the same argument. And I suspect they feel they don’t have to produce anything because you are the President and they claim you won fair and square."

And unknown to most Kenyans, Annan had the entire world at his fingertips. He was wired to all the influential leaders across the globe — all who vowed to accord him express and limitless support.

Although he played the calm and sometimes helpless diplomat, the former UN leader beckoned the US President George Bush, UK Premier Gordon Brown, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and European Union leaders at will.

"I got everything I needed. And I got Condi (Condoleezza Rice, former US Secretary of State), the EU and even the Swiss to fly in to back me up. One thing I also knew was that neither side wanted to be blamed for failure."