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 near the bottom ... viewed as only slightly less sleazy than Nigeria or Pakistan ..." The Daily Nation, in an article published on March 4, 2013 titled "End of a decade of highs and lows for Mwai Kibaki" summarised it thus: For a leader who was popularly swept into power in 2002 on an anti-corruption platform, Kibaki's tenure saw graft scandals where hundreds of millions of shillings were siphoned from public coffers. Kibaki's National Rainbow Coalition — which took power from the authoritarian rule of Daniel arap Moi—was welcomed for its promises of change and economic growth, but soon showed