The White House has welcomed the Kenyan parliament's approval of a new draft constitution, hoping for a "promising new chapter" for a country in which US President Barack Obama has family roots.
"We are encouraged by the strong statements made by President (Mwai) Kibaki and Prime Minister (Raila) Odinga in support of the draft," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs in a statement.
"A unified effort to see this important reform element through can help to turn the page to a promising new chapter of Kenyan history.
"We urge all Kenyans to focus on the future of their nation and to unify in support of a peaceful and credible referendum and electoral process."
Kenyan lawmakers approved the new draft constitution on Thursday, introducing key changes to the country's basic law, which will be submitted to a referendum later this year.
Enacting a new constitution was one of the reforms called for under a power-sharing deal between Kibaki and former opposition chief Odinga after the country's post-election unrest two years ago.
The draft proposes the creation of a Senate and of a Supreme Court. It also gives the new bicameral National Assembly authority to impeach the president.
Obama, whose late father was Kenyan, is closely followed in Kenya, and his election as America's first black president was widely celebrated there.
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President Yoweri Museveni has urged Kenyan leaders to always ensure that they avoid policies that impact negatively on the flow of goods and services to land locked neighbours. The President has also suggested that the Kenyan government allows the survey of Mijingo Island in Lake Victoria to resolve the controversy surrounding its ownership. President Museveni was meeting Kenyan Prime Minister, Mr. Raila Odinga, who paid a courtesy call on him at State House Entebbe. Prime Minister Raila Odinga is in Uganda for a private visit. He is accompanied by Ministers and MPs. During his stay, Mr. Raila Odinga will visit Luzira-based Quality Chemicals Factory in Kampala and Mweya in Queen Elizabeth National Park. President Museveni told the Kenyan Prime Minister that oil prices in Uganda had risen and attributed this development to problems in Kenya. He also pointed out that following last general elections in Kenya, the neighbouring countries, like Uganda and Rwanda, suffered because transporting their goods was affected by the aftermath election violence.
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“This is why some countries are working on another alternative route to the sea”, Mr. Museveni told his Kenyan visitors. The President suggested that all Kenyan government officials should be sensitive to the interests of the neighbouring countries that use Kenya.
“If all Kenyan government officials were sensitive to Kenya’s neighbours, many of these problems would not arise. No government bureaucrat would make a decision that adversely affects the movement of goods to Kenya’s neighbours. There is no need for bullying”, said the President.
On the controversial Mijingo Island, President Museveni said that there was no need of wasting time because the border was clearly demarcated and defined by colonialists. What is needed, he observed, is to survey the border and solve the problem. He told the Kenyan leaders that the Government of Uganda was working very closely with Kenya. He, however, noted that some Kenyan government officials refused the Ugandan team to enter Kenya.
“There is no need of wasting time on Mijingo; let us resume the survey and marking, using the colonial documents which the two countries have”, Mr. Museveni said. He briefed his visitors about the ongoing disarmament exercise in Karamoja and stressed the need for joint operations against cattle rustling. The President said that disarming the Karimojong has been successful. He, however, noted that the Kenyan side needs to disarm the Pokot.
“If we do not disarm these rustlers, they undermine the sovereignty of the state”, he said adding that the victims of the rustlers will seek guns to arm themselves.
In response, the Kenyan Prime Minister pledged his country’s commitment to free movement of goods and services. On the escalating fuel prices, Mr. Raila Odinga attributed it to the Kenyan Port Authority which made some regulations that have been reversed by the government. The Kenyan Prime Minister agreed with President Museveni to resume surveying Mijingo Island and said that the Kenyan government believed that the Ugandan government had withdrawn from the survey exercise.
Mr. Raila Odinga told the President that the railway line will be diverted from Nairobi’s Kibera slum. He also agreed with him on the need to carry out anti-rustling operations on the border areas and to ensure that illegal guns do not enter the region.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga is accompanied by the Minister of Health, Mr. Anyong Nyago, that of Fisheries Mr. Paul Otuama, MPs, Kizoto, Changu Ojamong and Shabash.
On the Ugandan side the meeting was attended by State Minister for International Affairs, Mr. Okello Oryem, of State for Fisheries, Mr. Fred Mukisa and that of State for Animal Industry, Major Rwamirama Bright.