Why African Peer Review meeting was moved to Ethiopia

A high-level governance meeting that was to be presided over by President Uhuru Kenyatta has been moved from Nairobi to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Extra-Ordinary summit that was expected to bring together over 15 heads of state will now take place on the sidelines of an African Union summit in January next year.

The meeting was moved from Nairobi despite earlier expectations that it would be held in Kenya, following the election of President Kenyatta to the helm of the peer review body in June.

A statement from State House confirmed the meeting will not take place, explaining that the decision was reached after non-members of the APRM expressed interest in participating in the event.

"The summit on revitalising the APRM will not go ahead next week. It has been postponed and will now be held on the margins of the AU meetings in Addis Ababa.The decision to postpone it was influenced by the keen interest expressed by member states of the African Union, who are not members of the APRM, in participating at the event," said the statement. The meeting was to take place on Thursday and Friday this week.

It was not clear why the decision to move the venue had been made at the last minute, or why Kenya could not host the non-member countries who had expressed interest. As late as last week, information on the APRM's website indicated that the meeting would take place in Nairobi and that delegates and media had already started registering.

The website had indicated that those who had been expected to attend were 35 APRM member states, invited dignitaries, Panel of Eminent Persons, APR Focal Points as well as representatives of development partners, academia and civil society.

In June, President Kenyatta was elected chairperson of the forum at the AU Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa. He later called for an extra-ordinary meeting of the AU to chart ways of revitalising the organisation. "If we don't strengthen the mechanism, we will jeopardise the success of our continent," he said.

The meeting was to be held against the backdrop of concerns that some Africa nations are turning away from the ideals of good governance espoused in its founding principles.