Palaver 17/02/12

Nice to hear the International Crisis Group advising Kenya to end its intervention in Somalia and instead focus on an exit strategy to avoid sparking local resistance and retaliation. Reasonable stuff considering the military that Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni thought was largely ceremonial has gone where regional power Ethiopia failed and succeeded where US Marines hightailed it. Let President Kibaki end Operation Linda Nchi now while we are still ahead, but keep a strong presence of soldiers near the common border for "hot pursuit" whenever some misguided Al Shabaab insurgents feel like crossing over to take potshots at Kenyans.

And staying with Somalia, what a sight it must have been yesterday when President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, addressed thousands of flag-waving Mogadishu residents who were chanting slogans against Al Qaeda. We welcome his vow to clear his country of Al Qaeda, if only the international community were to lift the arms embargo imposed on Somalia. Although, wouldn’t the cash to buy arms be better utilised rebuilding the country? Hard choices confront his administration and after a 20-year-long wait by a battle wearied people.

All radio stations are playing songs praising veteran Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe, who has been prezzo since independence in 1980. You see Tuesday will be Mugabe’s 88th birthday, so news wires say. It shall be a bash to remember ahead of his planned re-election bid. This in a country that broke the world record of a million per cent inflation rate. Farther North is Senegal’s 85-year-old President Abdoulaye Wade who is hot on the campaign trail, hoping to be re-elected. Wonder what 93-year-old Nelson Mandela makes of all these bids for re-election. He only served one term from 1994 to 1999!

And finally...

And the last word on this Somalia business. After waiting so long wait to be tried, 84 suspected Somali pirates feel the Kenyan judicial system is taking too long and wanaomba serikali ya international community to petition for their deportation back home. Seeking justice from the same fellows whose ships they snatched from the open seas! These are end times indeed.