Operation Linda Nchi the regional IGAD met in Addis Ababa and agreed unanimously to support the co-ordinated military operation in southern Somalia. Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister Haile Mariam Desalegne also indicated that his country may join the military campaign, as "the long-term goal is to eradicate al Shabaab from Somalia and this is the proper time and the process shows al-Shabaab is coming to an end". On 29 October, at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and South African President Jacob Zuma both pledged support for the mission, after Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki informed them of
Mwai Kibaki who insisted that young Mwai should go to school instead of spending his days grazing his father's sheep and cattle and baby-sitting his little nephews and nieces for his older sister. Kibaki turned out to be an exemplary student. He attended Gatuyainĩ School for the first two years, where he completed what was then called Sub "A" and sub "B" (the equivalent of standard one and two or first and second grade). He later joined Karima mission school for the three more classes of primary school. He later moved to Mathari School (now Nyeri High School) between 1944 and 1946