Tuesday, August 06, 2013
President Uhuru Kenyatta arrived in Kenya on Monday morning from
Kampala Uganda, where he attended the Heads of State Summit for
countries contributing troops to the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
The plane carrying the President and his delegation touched down at
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport shortly before 10am and was received
by senior government officials.
The summit, attended by Ethiopia's Premier Hailemariam Desalegn,
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia, host president Yoweri
Museveni and representatives from other member states, assessed the
successes, challenges and the future of AMISOM.
At the summit, leaders protested the unfair accusations, deliberate
distortion of facts and bad mouthing against AMISOM countries.
Statements appearing in the Kenyan and Somali media, attributed to
the Somali delegation, said Kenya should withdraw its troops from the
Horn of Africa country.
Following strong objections by Kenyan and other regional countries
representatives, the Somali delegation at the Summit withdrew the
statement.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the summit, regional leaders
noted that Kenya's frontline role in peace initiatives in Somalia had
led to major achievements, including liberation of the Port of Kismayu.
President Kenyatta told the summit that AMISOM's intervention in
Somalia had made it one of the successful peace-keeping operations by
Africa for Africa.
The summit chaired by President Museveni was organized to harmonize ongoing anti-Al Shabaab offensives.