By Barbara Among

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has congratulated Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga upon the signing of the agreement that will see an end to the post election violence in Kenya.

In a telephone conversation with the two on Thursday, the President also implored them to ensure the agreement is implemented as soon as possible to avoid a reoccurrence of unrest experienced in last two months.

“The President is elated by the agreement; he called the two parties as soon as the agreement was signed,” said Media Centre director Fred Opolot.
President Mwai Kibaki of the Party of National Unity and opposition leader, Raila Odinga of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) on Thursday signed a power-sharing deal that will see the leading opposition leader becoming prime minister.

“The Government of Uganda commends the parties for having agreed to put the future of Kenya above their own political interest. President Museveni pledges his continued support to the principals of the agreement,” read a press statement from the Uganda Media Centre.

Opolot said Uganda played a huge background role in ensuring that the agreement was signed by the parties to the talks. He said the power-sharing agreement was in line with the proposals on how to resolve the crisis by President Museveni to Government of Kenya and ODM, when he visited Kenya in January.
“It is upon this foundation that the mediation efforts by Kofi Annan were built,” Opolot said.

Talks have been modeled and followed the three agendas of setting up a judicial inquiry into the election violence, need for a power sharing government and formation of an independent commission into the root cause of election violence.
Normalcy of the situation is in the best interest, of not only Kenya but also Uganda and the region.

Opolot said that the repatriation process of the refugees currently in Uganda will be on a voluntary basis.