Addressing journalists in Nairobi, Mr Kenyatta condemned the incident in which President Mohammed Morsy was overthrown by the army and said his government would take the position of the African Union (AU) on coups in member states.
“The African Union has a very clear position on coup d’états. We did have an elected government; elected through a democratic process,” he said.
Later, Foreign Affairs issued a statement in which the government criticised the coup and issued a travel advisory to Egypt.
“Kenyan citizens in Egypt are requested to take every precaution and those intending to travel to the country to defer their travel for the time being. We condemn the acts of violence that have taken place in the last few days and express our condolences to the families and relatives of the victims," said the statement.
“Kenya is particularly alarmed over the removal of the legitimate elected administration of President Mohamed Morsy. We call upon the disputing parties to seek an amicable and democratic solution out of the current situation and to guarantee the protection and safety for all civilians."
“Kenya further calls for an all inclusive process that caters for all interests in Egypt. We express confidence in the ability of Egyptian people to resolve this situation and to return the country to constitutional order, and urge African solidarity in this regard," the statement further added.
The Egyptian military on Wednesday overthrew the country’s democratically elected president after he failed to meet demands to share power with opponents who had thronged the streets of Cairo.
Egyptian army commander General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivered the pronouncement on national television and said the military had suspended the Constitution “provisionally” in order to sort out the crisis that has hit the country for the past ten days.
Gen al-Sisi told Egyptians the army was meeting its “historic responsibility” to protect the country by ousting Mohammed Morsy, who was only voted in a year ago.
On Thursday, Mr Kenyatta said: “What is happening currently in Egypt is a matter of grave concern not just to us in Africa but should be a matter of concern to any true believer of a democratic process in the world.”
Although the Egyptian army argued it was only trying to resolve the crisis, the African Union policy on ‘Unconstitutional Change of Government’ (UCG) means Egypt’s military intervention was illegal.
And although the AU has yet to issue a statement on the coup, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance adopted in Addis Ababa in 2007 lists several decisions the Union can adopt towards a guilty member state.
It mandates the Chairperson of the AU Commission to ‘condemn’ the coup and demand a speedy return to constitutional order, the country way the coup happens may be suspended from participating in policy organs of the AU and the new authorities in the country “are given a period of up to six months to restore constitutional order.
As with the Malian coup attempt in 2012, the AU through the Western Africa regional bloc, Ecowas, imposed travel sanctions on the perpetrators and suspended the country from AU sittings.
With the changes in Egypt, AU is expected to call the Peace and Security Council meeting to discuss the issues. However, the continental bloc often lacks teeth to bite at the perpetrators.
- Daily Nation
