"How Kofi Annan saved Kenya"

Roger Cohen has a piece in the New York Review of Books on the post-election meditations led by Kofi Annan in Kenya in January and February. Not the most insightful analysis I've seen, and his "exlusive" access to the meeting minutes don't shed too much new light, beyond reaffirming that Kibaki ally Martha Karua and Odinga ally William Ruto don't get along well. But it's a readable overview of that proces.

Meanwhile, a brief item in today's Nation newspaper provides a reminder of the continued ethnic tensions in Kenya, and the media's tendency to aknowledge but tiptoe around the subject.

SECURITY BEEFED UP TO AVERT GROUP CLASHES

"Security was beefed up in Nakuru town at the weekend following reports that there could be renewed clashes among two communities. Security officers were deployed in the entire town to ensure there was peace and order. Residents have expressed fear for the last two weeks after rumours spread that the two groups were set to clash on August 8."