A Black Rhino Named Kofi Annan

A newborn endangered Black Rhino in a Kenyan Conservancy was recently named after former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, reports the BBC. Annan has been at the center of mediations in Kenya’s current crisis of democratic leadership. The elected government of Mwai Kibaki has been accused of rigging December elections by opposition leader Raila Odinga. The ensuing violence and disruption has displaced about 300,000 and caused the deaths of about 1,000 Kenyans, the BBC reports.

Baby Kofi was born on a conservancy as part of an effort to rejuvenate the dying population of the Black Rhino, part of a larger endangered rhino population problem across Africa.

The real Kofi Annan, it seems, is fortified with the same thick-skin as he has been playing role of mediator since the troubles began in late December. Annan reportedly recently briefed the Kenyan Parliament on the progress of the peace talks as it seems both sides of the conversation are moving toward solutions which may ultimately require parliamentary intervention.

Baby Kofi, meanwhile, perhaps not dissimilarly, is poised for a life in the wild where he will learn to be part of the culture of his species – the sharing, the history, and, of course, the conflict – perhaps someday brokering a peace of his very own.

Blackline will be sure to update you on that story should it ever surface.

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