The 26th Africa Cup of Nations that was officially opened on Sunday 20th January by Ghanaian President John Kuffuor offers a lot of lessons for violence-ridden Kenya and Africa. The competition, Africa’s biggest soccer fiesta which will end on 10th February, will see the best 16 teams from across the continent battle it out in four cities - Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and Sekondi.

The referee has to be fair and objective, the players have to be disciplined and the loser has to accept the outcome. The key lesson for Africa here is to build credible institutions that ensure fair play in democracy for the purposes of stability. We too must re-organize our democratic system so as to avoid the winner take it all type of competition.