Reformists in Kenya Suspend Mass Protests

Leaders of the nation’s reform movement announced Tuesday that they will suspend protests so that church leaders, who have formed a mediation team, can arrange talks with the country’s ruling party.

The 10-day suspension represents a break in the four-month standoff between the government and the National Convention Assembly, an alliance of opposition politicians, civil rights activists and religious leaders. The creation of the mediation group is the first serious step in the quest for dialogue on constitutional and administrative reforms here.

The reformists had previously vowed to continue demonstrating for change until President Daniel Arap Moi agreed to revise election rules that give him an advantage in this year’s presidential election and hamper the registration of political parties. They also want the repeal of colonial-era laws that restrict freedom of assembly and the press and allow indefinite detention of individuals without charge.

Earlier, the government had refused to meet with alliance leaders, saying it would negotiate only with elected officials.

Now the two sides seem to have found a compromise. “We believe it is only through dialogue that the problems of the country can be solved, and we want to facilitate that,” said Gibson Kamau Kuria, a lawyer and a spokesman for the reform lobby.

Moi, 73, is seeking a fifth and final five-year term in office. The election date has not been announced.

Today, nine mediators, whose names have not been released, are expected to broker a first round of talks between opposition leaders and representatives of Moi’s Kenya African National Union party. The clerics will meet separately with each group to prepare the way for joint talks.

Religious mediators have helped broker peace and effect political change in other African nations, including South Africa, Malawi and Zambia. And some activists were cautiously optimistic Tuesday that the church intermediaries would at least be able to get Kenya’s two sides to sit and listen to each other.

The opposition’s suspension of protests comes on the heels of a nationwide general strike Friday in which four people died in clashes.