King of kings, huh. I say, bite the bullet and call him Jah Rastafarai!
Fitting for a former coup-leader, self-declared sponsor-of-African rebel 
movements; reformed terrorist, former mad-dog of the Middle East. As 
they say a mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Malanding Jaiteh

courtesy of 
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/-/1066/524668/-/13ruedjz/-/index.html


  No agreement over Africa unity plan

A general view shows the official opening session of the 12th African 
Union Summit of Heads of States in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa 
February 2, 2009. Photo/REUTERS
By HENRY OWUOR in ADDIS ABABAPosted Wednesday, February 4 2009 at 16:13

In Summary

Move unravelled as Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi stormed out of the 
meeting room just after 2 am this morning and a few minutes later, all 
the leaders filed out.

The African Union met until the wee hours today but failed to agree on 
the creation of a new body to move the continent towards a single 
government.

Related Stories

    * Gaddafi takes one hour to push his union agenda
      <http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/-/1066/523876/-/13rv23yz/-/index.html>

It all unravelled when Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi stormed out of the 
meeting room just after 2 am this morning and a few minutes later, all 
the leaders filed out.

Asked why Colonel Gaddafi had stormed out, Tanzanian Foreign Minister 
Bernard Membe said Gaddafi ‘’may have felt unwell’’ and that is the 
reason he left the meeting.

Today’s deadlock followed a deal on Sunday under which the AU was to 
create an “African Union Authority” with a president, a vice-president 
and secretaries covering various portfolios such as Foreign Affairs, 
climate change, poverty eradication, research and pandemics such as Aids.

As he walked out of the meeting, Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses 
Wetang'ula said: “We will have a report by nine in the morning’’.

But, by two pm today, the leaders were still meeting.

Sources at the meeting told the Nation that Colonel Gaddafi, who is 
chairman of the AU stormed out because he did not agree with his 
colleagues on three main issues:

    * The naming of the new authority to run Africa.
    * Col Gaddafi demanded that he should be given the title: “king of
      kings’’ but his colleagues refused.
    * There was no agreement on the nature of portfolios to be created.

Earlier as the summit opened, Colonel Gaddafi and Ugandan President 
Yoweri Museveni clashed over the use of traditional leaders by the 
Libyan leader to push his agenda for the creation of a United States of 
Africa.

At a debate that saw many interjections by Mr Museveni, the Ugandan 
leader warned that he would arrest any traditional leader in his country 
who claimed to speak for Col Gaddafi.

The main dispute over creation of the new continental body currently is 
at the technical level as on Sunday, the AU agreed to convert the its 
commission into the ‘’African Union Authority. ‘’

The dispute now is over the powers that the new authority should enjoy.

At another level, there are questions over the powers that the members 
of the AU are ready to cede to the new authority.

What is also emerging is that Colonel Gaddafi, who replaced Tanzanian 
President as the new chairman of the AU on Monday, is riding roughshod 
over other members of the AU at its debates.

According to sources who briefed the Nation in Addis, only two leaders 
have been taking Col Gaddafi to task in the debate over the new body to 
be created by the AU.

The two leaders are Mr Museveni and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

What is happening currently is that many AU leaders are either on their 
way out or are too new and as such can hardly take on a leader who has 
been in power for close to 40 years..

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