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Kibaki agrees to share power with Odinga, who will get new post of prime minister and half of the Cabinet seats.
By Edmund Sanders
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
February 29, 2008
NAIROBI, KENYA — Kenya's presidential rivals agreed Thursday to share power in a coalition government aimed at ending postelection chaos that has killed 1,000 people and brought this once-promising East African nation to the brink of political and economic collapse.
Under the terms of a deal signed by President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga, the men will divide Cabinet posts 50-50 and amend the constitution to create the office of prime minister for Odinga, who will share power with the president.
The agreement marks a significant step toward resolving Kenya's political crisis and alleviates fear that failed negotiations would trigger more violence. The news brought praise from the United States and other Western governments, which had come to count on Kenya as an economic partner and source of regional stability.
But many also said they would have to wait and see whether the rivals were genuinely committed and willing to work together. They noted that Kenya still faces sizable challenges, including 350,000 displaced people, a shattered economy and heightened ethnic tensions.
"They are solving their political problems, but not our problems yet," said Alfonse Mutuku, 24, who is living in a camp near Limuru, north of Nairobi.
Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is leading the mediation effort, said the deal was the only way to break Kenya's stalemate.
"Compromise was necessary for the survival of this country," he said. But he cautioned that the work must continue to resolve the nation's social and humanitarian issues. "The journey is far from over. In fact, it is only beginning."
After the disputed Dec. 27 presidential election that both Kibaki and Odinga claimed to have won, Kenya erupted into weeks of rioting and ethnic violence as long-simmering disputes over land and power boiled over. In one of the most gruesome attacks, at least 17 people seeking shelter in a Rift Valley church were burned alive Jan. 1
Underscoring tensions that still grip the country, moments after the signing ceremony was completed in Nairobi, the capital, police fired tear gas at Odinga supporters celebrating in the streets.
The compromise marks a turnaround from three days ago, when Annan disbanded bickering negotiating teams and said the talks had reached an impasse. With help from visiting Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, Annan began direct discussions with Kibaki and Odinga on Wednesday.
Key details of the coalition government have yet to be determined, including how the president and prime minister will share powers, how Cabinet posts will be divided, how disputes will be resolved and what happens if the coalition falls apart. Parliament is scheduled to convene Thursday to begin revising the constitution.
In the final hours of negotiation, Kibaki made significant concessions: agreeing to give Odinga authority to "coordinate and supervise" the government and to a constitutional amendment that a day earlier he had ruled out.
His change of heart came amid intense pressure from the United States and others in the international community, who voiced increasingly strong warnings about possible sanctions and isolation for those perceived to be blocking a deal.
In addition, neighboring countries, including Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, pushed Kibaki to settle because their economies rely heavily on Kenyan ports and have suffered during the unrest.
After signing the agreement, Kibaki called upon Kenyans to put the ethnic clashes of the last two months behind them and live together in peace.
"Kenya has room for all of us," he said.
Public reaction to the deal varied, often depending upon ethnicity and political persuasion.
In Odinga strongholds, including the western city of Kisumu and the Nairobi slum of Kibera, crowds danced and sang in the streets. "Raila is the man," shouted supporters in downtown Nairobi.
The mood was darker in a camp north of Nairobi, where displaced Kikuyus, of the same tribe as Kibaki, gathered under a plastic tarp to watch the signing ceremony in silence on a television donated by a local church. None of the nearly 200 people living in tents said they expected it would be safe enough to return home anytime soon and some blamed Kibaki for giving away too much power.
"In my opinion, I think Kibaki was very soft," said Steven Nderito, a pastor from the Rift Valley who was chased from his home by members of rival tribes. "I don't see how they can work together. I think Kibaki is going to rethink this and may change his mind next week."
Public support for the agreement will be crucial to its success, Annan said.
Experts said Kibaki is facing growing criticism from his supporters. Hard-liners in his administration bitterly opposed making concessions, whereas displaced Kikuyus complain that the president has done little to assist them.
"He's been taken hostage, not just by hard-liners, but by the Kikuyu community, who feel that since he failed to protect them in the first place, now the least he can do is keep power," said Ngunyi Mutahi, a Nairobi political analyst.
For Odinga, who has worked a lifetime as an opposition leader and at times found himself imprisoned in government torture chambers, the deal ends a long struggle for political power.
Though he originally demanded that Kibaki resign and hold new elections, Odinga reached out Thursday, referring to Kibaki for the first time since Dec. 27 as "president" and "my countryman."
He said the election crisis had provided an opportunity to push for government reforms.
"The crisis has taught Kenyans a serious lesson that has helped form a foundation for a united country," he said.
Annan said he would begin today working on the final phase of his mediation effort, addressing some of the underlying issues, such as land disputes, economic marginalization and ethnic discrimination.
Government leaders are preparing to launch a truth and reconciliation commission, similar to one set up after the Rwanda genocide.
Kenyans celebrate historic deal
The power-sharing deal was greeted with jubilation in Kenya
Kenyans have been celebrating the power-sharing deal to end the country's two-month political crisis.
Thousands of dancing and cheering people poured onto the streets of Kisumu, the home town of opposition leader Raila Odinga.
He is set to become prime minister in a coalition with President Mwai Kibaki.
The deal to end the crisis which saw some 1,500 people killed and 600,000 left homeless has also been warmly welcomed elsewhere in the country.
Mr Odinga and Mr Kibaki signed a power-sharing agreement, brokered by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, in the capital, Nairobi, on Thursday.
Negotiations between the government and opposition lasted more than a month, stalling several times.
Relief
Mr Odinga told the BBC he wanted fresh elections within two years.
He said the deal he signed with Mr Kibaki gave him genuine powers as prime minister, and there was agreement to fast-track amendments to the constitution so that he could take up office as soon as possible.
POWER-SHARING DEAL
New two-party coalition government to be set up
Cabinet posts to be divided equally between parties
Raila Odinga to take new post of prime minister, can only be dismissed by National Assembly
Two new deputy PMs to be appointed, one from each member of coalition
The BBC's Adam Mynott in Nairobi says there is a huge sense of relief that a deal to end the country's most damaging crisis since independence 48 years ago has been signed, but also some nervousness about how lingering resentment from weeks of unrest will be defused.
Mr Odinga said he was robbed of victory in December's polls.
He said he would push through reforms so the horrors of the past eight weeks could not be repeated - get rid of, he said, the ugly face of ethnicity in the country.
The post-election violence saw thousands of people targeted because they belonged to ethnic groups seen as either pro-government or pro-opposition.
Compromise
The new coalition will be headed by President Kibaki, with Mr Odinga - whose Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is the largest in parliament - set to take the newly created post of prime minister.
Compromise was necessary for the survival of this country
Kofi Annan
Each party will nominate a deputy prime minister, with other ministerial portfolios being divided equally between the two parties.
Correspondents say both parties are now likely to begin wrangling over who gets what position in the new government, with the post of finance minister likely to prove the most contentious.
After the deal was reached, Mr Annan said: "Compromise was necessary for the survival of this country."
He urged all Kenyans to support the agreement, saying: "The job of national reconciliation and national reconstruction is not for the leaders alone. It must be carried out in every neighbourhood, village, hamlet of the nation."
'New chapter'
Speaking after the signing, Mr Kibaki said: "This process has reminded us that as a nation there are more issues that unite than that divide us...
After 8 weeks of uncertainty in the political atmosphere as well as peace, there is somehow a glimpse of hope and light to the beautiful land of Kenya.Edward, Nairobi
"We've been reminded we must do all in our power to safeguard the peace that is the foundation of our national unity... Kenya has room for all of us."
Mr Odinga said: "With the signing of this agreement, we have opened a new chapter in our country's history - from the era or phase of confrontation to the beginning of co-operation.
"We, on our side, are completely committed to ensuring that this agreement will succeed."
Both men thanked those who had stood by Kenya in what Mr Odinga called its "hour of need", including Mr Annan, the African Union, the European Union, the United States and the UN.
They also urged Kenyans to move forward together without ethnic divisions.
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki (r) meets AU chairman Jean Ping
African Union Commission chairman is hopeful of a quick resolution to the Kenyan political crisis amid talks over a power-sharing deal.
Jean Ping, who arrived in the country on Thursday, held talks with former UN Secretary General and chief mediator Kofi Annan as well as Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki.
He also met with opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) in absence of party's leader Raila Odinga, who was on a visit to Nigeria.
"I am confident. I think that the mediators will succeed in their mediation. I want to say that we give to the team the full support of the commission," Ping told reporters at a press conference.
"We are satisfied with the progress made on the Kenya national dialogue and reconciliation," he added, stressing that the weekend would be 'crucial' and expressing hope that the negotiator teams would reach an agreement.
The rival sides have agreed in principle to create the post of a prime minister, but are yet to agree on its terms and responsibilities. The ODM insists on a powerful premier while the government has offered a non-executive office.Meanwhile, Odinga left for Nigeria for 'consultations', according to officials who did not indicate the nature of his unannounced visit to the west African nation.
The ODM parliamentary group also renewed threats to launch protests, saying it would call for mass civil disobedience if Annan-lead team failed to reach a tangible outcome by Feb. 27.
Kenya's political crisis came on the heels of Kibaki's controversial victory in the December 27 presidential vote, which Odinga maintains was rigged. The disputed vote followed by massive street protests, which later turned into tribal fighting, leaving at least 1,000 people killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:33:44
Press TV - AU chief satisfied with Kenya talks
There are Signs of Progress in Kenya Power-Sharing Talks
Negotiations aimed at resolving Kenya's political deadlock are showing signs of progress, as the government and opposition party discuss a power-sharing arrangement built on the creation of an office of prime minister. Derek Kilner reports from Nairobi, where negotiators say they expect an agreement to be reached in a few days.
Government negotiator Mutula Kilonzo told reporters the government had agreed to the creation of an office of prime minister, but that the powers the office would hold have not been worked out.
The creation of the prime minister position has been a key demand of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement, whose leader Raila Odinga would likely take the job.
In this photo released by Kenya's Presidential Press Service, Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki, left, meets opposition leader Raila Odinga at his Harambee House office, in Nairobi, Kenya, 24 Jan 2008
President Mwai Kibaki's team had earlier said any power-sharing arrangement must follow the current constitution, which would not allow a prime minister. The government appears to have relented on this position, though it remains unclear what level of power it would accept for the office. The opposition has called for the prime minister to share executive powers with the president.
Speaking outside the negotiations, which are set to resume Friday, Kilonzo said he expected an agreement would be reached in the next few days.
"I think at the very latest by the end of the weekend. We have resolved that if we do not finish tomorrow, we work over the weekend. Even if you have looked at my friends from ODM ... walking out, they have been walking with a smile, everybody has a smile," Kilonzo said.
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki (l), former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, center, and opposition leader Raila Odinga (r) observe a minute of silence for the victims of the recent violence, in Nairobi, 29 Jan 2008
Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is leading the mediation effort, issued a statement saying he is "beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel." There have been previous moments during the negotiations when a deal had seemed imminent, but failed to materialize. The mediation effort is in its third week.
Even if a solution is reached soon, Kenya will still face a challenge in avoiding a return to the unrest that killed some 1000 people following a disputed presidential election on December 27.
The International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based analysis organization, released a report saying negotiations aimed at tackling the broader issues underlying the violence - including economic policy, constitutional reform, and the disbandment of militias - must begin immediately.
VOA News - Signs of Progress in Kenya Power-Sharing Talks
By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
21 February 2008
Kilner report - Download (MP3) 
Kilner report - Listen (MP3)
By TOM MALITI – 8 hours ago
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya's government tentatively agreed Thursday to create a prime minister's post to be filled by the opposition, moving the East African country a step closer to ending weeks of deadly clashes over the disputed presidential election.
A political deal was expected Friday after weeks of international pressure on both sides to share power, government negotiator Mutula Kilonzo said.
"We have more or less agreed on a non-executive prime minister but with some substantial meaningful responsibilities," he told The Associated Press.
Kilonzo said there were several other elements of a power-sharing deal to be resolved, but he could not give details.
Calls to the opposition were not immediately returned.
"I am beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel," former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, who has been mediating in the political negotiations, said in a statement.
Both sides "outlined a joint proposal, that had been largely agreed, on the governance structure," Annan said.
The Dec. 27 election returned President Mwai Kibaki to power after opposition leader Raila Odinga's lead in early vote counting evaporated overnight. Foreign and local observers said the count was rigged, and ensuing violence has stirred up ethnic grievances over land and poverty that have bedeviled Kenya since independence in 1963. More than 1,000 people have been killed.
On Wednesday, Kenya's opposition had threatened mass protests unless serious work to put power-sharing into the constitution started within a week. It was the latest sign the country remains delicately balanced on the edge of violence despite weeks of peace talks.
Much of the bloodshed has pitted other ethnic groups against Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe, long resented for dominating politics and the economy.
On Thursday, a man was hacked to death in a Nairobi slum, police said. Witnesses said the fight started when a group of young Luos — the same ethnic group as Odinga — began taunting Kikuyus.
"They started hurling insults then throwing stone at the Kikuyus, who are their neighbors," said a woman selling vegetables in the slum.
The Kikuyus then attacked, killing a Luo man, said the woman, who asked that her name not be used for fear of retribution.
A think tank said Thursday that armed groups on opposing sides of the political and ethnic strife are mobilizing for new attacks and serious violence could erupt again if peace talks fail.
"Calm has partly returned but the situation remains highly volatile," the Brussels, Belgium-based International Crisis Group said in a report. "Armed groups are still mobilizing on both sides."
Talks between Kibaki and Odinga have focused on how to create a broader-based government to end the crisis. In particular, Odinga and his backers have demanded that the president share power.
The country remains caught between a desire to move on from waves of ethnic attacks and a fear that any compromise could spark new fighting.
The African Union's new chairman, Jean Ping, flew into Kenya on Thursday to add diplomatic pressure to the crisis talks. Earlier this week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Kenya's rival politicians to share power during talks in Nairobi.
Associated Press writers Elizabeth A. Kennedy and Tom Odula contributed to this report.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is urging Kenyan leaders to share power, threatening to hold back American aid money if no deal is reached.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki discussed peace deals in Nairobi on Monday.
(Kenyan Presidential Press Service/Associated Press)Rice, on a one-day visit to the volatile eastern African country on Monday, met with the President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
"The time for political settlement was yesterday," she said after the meetings. "The current stalemate and the circumstances are not going to permit business as usual with the United States or I think with any other part of the international community."
Kibaki and Odinga have been at odds since a Dec. 27 election returned Kibaki to power for a second five-year term. Foreign and local observers say the vote was rigged and violence has raged in the country ever since, much of it pitting Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe against other ethnic groups.
Rice urges Kenyan leaders to strike power-sharing deal Last Updated: Monday, February 18, 2008 | 9:13 PM ET CBC News
2 hours ago
NAIROBI (AFP) — At least five people have died in clashes in recent days in western Kenya, police said Wednesday, as former UN chief Kofi Annan pressed for a deal to end the crisis sparked by December's elections.
"In the last four days, three people have been killed in Molo and two others in Cherangani area," a police commander told AFP, requesting anonymity.
Police said they had boosted security in volatile western areas of the east African country that were the scene of some of the worst fighting set off by the disputed December 27 re-election of President Mwai Kibaki, in which more than 1,000 people died and some 300,000 were displaced.
Annan has spent more than a month in Kenya leading talks between the camps of Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga, who claims he was robbed of victory in the widely-contested polls.
Launched by the African Union, Annan's mediation is seen as Kenya's best hope for a political solution to move beyond the violence which saw Kenyans killed by machete-wielding mobs, burnt in churches and driven off their land.
"We are working very hard to ensure that there is preservation of peace," police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told AFP Wednesday.
The crisis has tapped into simmering resentment over land, poverty and the dominance of the Kikuyu, Kibaki's tribe, in Kenyan politics and business since independence from Britain in 1963.
Peace talks: Ms. Rice shook hands Monday with President Mwai Kibaki She's pushing both sides to agree on a power-sharing deal.
Radu Sigheti/Reuters
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Kenya Monday to press for a power-sharing agreement.
By Rob Crilly | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the February 19, 2008 edition
Reporter Robert Crilly discusses the latest developments between the government and opposition leaders in Kenya.
Kisumu, Kenya - The pile of stones blocking the road here in this western Kenyan city is part tribute to a fallen comrade and part challenge to Kenya's politicians as they talk peace.
"We cannot remove the stones until we know that [opposition leader Raila Odinga] is the president," says Eliazar Otieno Oluga, one of the unemployed youths who hang out in a corrugated iron shed at the edge of a slum.
This area is the heartland of support for Mr. Odinga, who narrowly lost the disputed Dec. 27 presidential election that most observers say was deeply flawed.
Odinga has made conciliatory statements during recent peace talks brokered by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Kenya Monday to urge both sides to agree to powersharing measures that diplomats hope will stem the violence that has killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than 600,000. But Odinga faces pressure from his own supporters not to be too accommodating.
Angry youths don't want to compromise
The youths from his Luo ethnic group who burned buildings in Kisumu in the wake of the election say they will accept little in the way of compromise. The stones in the road – marking the spot where one their friends was shot by riot police – could quickly become missiles.
"We voted for a president, not a prime minister," says one. "The least we can accept is an interim government with a revote in six months."
The young men, who spend their days drinking or smoking bhang, the local name for marijuana, are typical of the dispossessed from whom Odinga draws much of his support.
He campaigned on a policy of majimbo – a form of devolved government that promised to share the benefits of Kenya's booming economy with those who felt they were missing out to members of President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe.
In short, he offered his supporters hope.
Jaguba Nyabanda Anyango, a mechanic, says: "[Mr. Kibaki] has taken his people to the government. Now we want [Odinga] to take all Luos to government and provide jobs."
Without Odinga in the State House, they all say they will rip up their voting cards and turn their backs on Kenya's political system.
But first, they will burn what is left of Kisumu's once pretty city center."That is automatic if [Odinga] betrays us," says one of the young men.
Angry opposition youths oppose Kenya compromise | csmonitor.com
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in Kenya to support efforts to reach political reconciliation, said Kenya's opposing factions must form a "grand coalition" that provides "real power sharing."
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks Monday to the press alongside Kenya crisis mediator Kofi Annan at a local hotel in Nairobi.
Rice was meeting with President Mwai Kibaki Monday afternoon and was expected to meet later with opposition leader Raila Odinga.
The country erupted in ethnic violence after its December 27 presidential vote, in which President Mwai Kibaki kept his post. His opponent, Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga, blasted the results, saying the election was rigged, and he and his supporters declined to recognize the election as valid.
Sec. Rice, who arrived in Nairobi for a brief visit Monday morning, told reporters she would "emphasize the positive" when meeting with President Kibaki and Odinga.
"There needs to be a governance arrangement that would allow real power sharing that could allow a coalition, indeed, a grand coalition, so that Kenya can be governed," Rice said.
"To President Kibaki, I will say power sharing means real power sharing and the United States, as a friend of Kenya, expects that power sharing to take place to show that you can make the electoral and constitutional reforms that frankly should have been made several years ago," Rice said.
Rice said she would tell Odinga that while the United States understands there were problems with the elections, he is going to have to "get along" and support "a coalition government that is going to have to make sure that the country can function."
Rice's first meeting was with former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan who is there mediating talks between the two groups.
"What must be foremost in the mind is that it's not about individual politicians, but about the people of Kenya," Annan said after his one-hour meeting with Rice.
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Annan said Friday that major progress is being made in forging a political deal that will end the crisis.
He said mediators "have defined a reform agenda of a new government" and have made strides toward making constitutional and electoral reforms and building a truth and reconciliation commission.
Earlier Friday, a senior official from Kenya's opposition party says its camp is "frustrated with the pace of the negotiations" to settle the political crisis in Kenya.
The official, from the Orange Democratic Movement, said the government mediation team has not put details of a "power-sharing agreement" on the table and could be "stonewalling Kofi Annan to tire him out."
That assertion was given some weight by a Kenyan TV report that the government mediation team on Thursday asked for a seven-day recess from the negotiations. The report said Annan told the mediators they had to continue their work.
Alfred Matua, spokesman for the government, told CNN that "those statements are incorrect" because the government team has come up with three political framework options.
The Orange Democratic Movement said it proposed a separation of powers plan with a prime minister and the president retaining significant powers.
CNN's David McKenzie contributed to this report
Rice in Nairobi to push for deal
Ms Rice is the highest-ranking US official to visit since the election
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in Kenya in an attempt to end the political crisis which has led to widespread unrest.
Ms Rice is expected to push President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga to agree a deal to share power, following December's disputed election.
She will also hold talks with the lead mediator, former UN chief Kofi Annan.
On Friday, both sides agreed to set up an independent panel to review the vote, which Mr Odinga says was rigged.
The dispute has led to political and ethnic violence in which at least 1,000 people have been killed and 600,000 have fled their homes.
Ongoing mediation
Ms Rice became the highest-ranking US official to visit Kenya since the election on 27 December when she flew into Nairobi on Monday from neighbouring Tanzania, where she had been accompanying President George W Bush.
Moses Wetangula
Kenyan Foreign Minister
The BBC's Adam Mynott in Nairobi says it was hoped Ms Rice would arrive to endorse a decision taken by government and opposition negotiators to agree on a way out of the election crisis.
But the mediation process is still going on and the White House said she did not expect to come away with a "final deal", our correspondent says.
The talks are due to resume on Tuesday, after being adjourned last Thursday.
Considerable progress has been made but there is no agreement ready to be signed and there remains considerable opposition in the government to an imposed solution, he adds.
"We encourage our friends to support us and not make any mistake of putting a gun to anybody's head and saying 'either/or', because that cannot work," Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula warned on Sunday.
"Even if we get visitors to help us in any way possible, the answer to the problem in Kenya lies with Kenyans themselves."
Mr Bush had said he favoured a power-sharing deal at the start of his tour of Africa on Saturday, although he later stressed the US was looking only at "how best we can help the process".
Election panel
At the talks in Nairobi, Ms Rice is expected to discuss the progress made so far by mediation team led by Mr Annan.
Kofi Annan has said the two rivals are very close to a deal
On Friday, the former UN secretary general announced that the government and opposition had agreed to set up an independent panel, including Kenyan and non-Kenyan experts, to investigate "all aspects" of the disputed election.
The committee is due to start work on 15 March and submit its report within three to six months, he added.
"We are there, we are very close, we are moving steadily," Mr Annan said after two days of secret talks to end the crisis.
The government negotiator, Mutula Kilonzo, said on Thursday that the two sides had agreed to write a new constitution within a year.
Correspondents say this could pave the way for the creation of the post of prime minister, which Mr Odinga could take, although the opposition team said the issue of power-sharing needed to be resolved first.
Other details still reportedly needing to be worked out include the division of ministerial portfolios in any coalition.
Foreign diplomats have warned representatives of both sides of dire consequences if they scupper the process.
BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Rice in Nairobi to push for deal
The Government and ODM have set their terms for Monday’s meeting with chief mediator Kofi Annan as top US diplomat is scheduled to arrive in the morning to push for a power-sharing formula aimed at ending the political crisis.
US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice walks out of Tanzania’s State House in Dar es Salaam on Sunday. She is expected to meet President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga in Nairobi on Monday and convey President George Bush’s message. Photo/ MPOKI BUKUKU
As public anxiety builds and international pressure intensifies, it has emerged that both sides in the political conflict are agreeable to a coalition government. The difference, however, lies in its structure and the powers of the President in the new arrangement.
On Sunday evening, Government and ODM negotiators were locked in briefing sessions with their principals to fine-tune the positions that would be placed before Mr Annan Monday.
The chief mediator is scheduled to meet President Kibaki and ODM’s Raila Odinga Monday.
The former UN secretary-general is expected to prevail upon the two to give directions to their negotiators to strike a deal on some form of coalition government.
The meeting coincides with the arrival of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to give urgency to the mediated talks.
Dr Rice will meet President Kibaki and Mr Odinga to convey President George Bush’s message that a solution must be found quickly to prevent the country from collapse.
President Bush, who is in neighbouring Tanzania, has said Dr Rice’s mission in Kenya: “(Is) all aimed at having a clear message that there will be no violence and there ought to be a power-sharing agreement.”
The US Foreign Secretary will first be briefed by Mr Annan before meeting the two.
She will address a press conference at 4.50pm at the Muthaiga residence of ambassador Michael Ranneberger.
Political crisis
The US sentiments have been echoed by the United Kingdom, Germany, European Union and the UN who have all stated that Kenya would not be allowed to go up in smoke.
While acknowledging the need for a solution to the political crisis and the violence in which more than 1,000 people have been killed, Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang’ula was categorical that the Government will not allow the international community to usurp its sovereignty and arm-twist it into a governance structure that fails to respect the Constitution.
“We have a country, we have a Constitution and laws. Whatever agreement reached must be in line with the Constitution and meet the interests of Kenyans,” he said.
The former UN boss has proposed a coalition government as the best option to end the seven-week-old crisis.
Ambassador Oluyemi Adenije from Nigeria is also expected to arrive Monday to assist Mr Annan in the mediation.
The envoy is a former Cabinet minister and UN official.
We learnt that while the Government side was not opposed to a new coalition arrangement, it would insist that it must be in line with the provisions of the current Constitution.
This is based on the thinking that the political crisis, which arose from the disputed presidential elections, does not, in any way, subvert the Constitution.
That is why they are advancing the argument that President Kibaki should retain his slots as the Head of Government and Head of State with executive authority.
They will also maintain that Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, in addition to retaining his position in Parliament as the Leader of Government Business, will assume the position of the principal deputy of the President.
In line with Section 16 of the Constitution, they propose that the position of a Prime Minister, who in reality would serve as the chief minister, be created and given to ODM.
The holder of the position, will oversee the running of government ministries.
Number of ministries
Under the same section, they would propose that an Act of Parliament be passed to fix the number of ministries from which the President can appoint to his Cabinet.
The Government will also hold that the coalition will come into being on condition that President Kibaki serves his full term.
They will also demand that the coalition arrangement stops when the life of the current Parliament comes to an end and the country prepares for fresh elections.
ODM are pushing for a new coalition government in which it will share equal powers and slots with PNU. They will push for a Prime Minister’s position in a governance arrangement in which the functions of the President and the premier are separated.
While the President retains the position of the Head of State, the Prime Minister will serve as the Head of Government.
The ODM team will also push for creation of two slots of the deputy prime minister, and that Mr Musyoka be edged out of that arrangement.
This means that the PM will be the Leader of Government Business in the House, a position which is currently held by the VP.
They will also demand for half of the ministerial positions and that high profile slots like Finance and Internal Security be shared equally with the PNU.
This arrangement, they argue, has to be replicated even to the lowest ranks in public service jobs.
See related : Long fight for change and link to crisis
Published on February 18, 2008, 12:00 am
By Standard Team
The ghost of constitutional reforms — which two successive regimes failed to deal with — has re-emerged to haunt the political leadership in the middle of a post-election crisis, The Standard can report.
And this on the eve of the high profile arrival today of US Secretary of State Ms Condeleezza Rice and the return of Dr Jendayi Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, to add impetus to the ongoing mediation talks.
Rice, an emissary of US President George Bush, will carry this message from him to President Kibaki and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Mr Raila Odinga, "…The US desires to see that there be a power-sharing arrangement that will help this nation resolve its difficulties".
Power-sharing, now at the centre of the ongoing talks to broker a deal out of the crippling political impasse — and which could entail shifting some of the imperial powers of the presidency to another institution — is, in fact, a child of the much sought-after reforms.
Tragically, few lessons have been learnt after many years of false starts dating back to 1997, and billions of shillings gone down the drain, including a referendum on the draft Constitution which the Government lost.
But after failing to reform its constitution in peacetime, Kenya is now confronted with a fresh and even more urgent need to reform its constitution in the middle of a crisis.
Prof Yash Pal Ghai, a consultant during the search for a new constitution in the Kibaki-led National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) government, once remarked at the height of his frustration that if Kenya failed to reform its supreme document in peacetime, it somehow would still have to do so in turmoil.
The need for reforms is also in cognizance of the fact that while the mayhem that engulfed the country was a spontaneous response to the Electoral Commission of Kenya’s (ECK) declaration of Kibaki as winner of the 2007 presidential elections, a plethora of other underlying issues that have remained unresolved since Independence helped fuel it.
Mediators have conceded that the crisis cannot be resolved by merely dealing with the puzzle of who won the presidency and sharing out Cabinet positions.
With the international community backing the idea of power sharing, that has also strongly featured on the mediation table, there was no doubt at the weekend that a deal was shaping up along these lines.
New hardliners emerge
A political settlement that could usher in a new government is expected to be announced anytime this week. The talks, led by former UN secretary-general Dr Kofi Annan, former South African First Lady Mrs Graca Machel and former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, resume tomorrow.
But a new breed of status quo proponents similar to those who blocked change in Kanu’s last days of a 24-year hegemony and another that frustrated reforms for the most part during Kibaki’s first tenure as President emerged in the form of Party of National Unity (PNU) hardliners.
Power-sharing, which the international community has openly backed and is pressuring the protagonists to accept as the most viable political settlement, appeared to be deeply unsettling for PNU.
In a seemingly well choreographed fight-back, Foreign Affairs minister Mr Moses Wetangula fired the first salvo at US President George Bush — who has backed power-sharing and which idea he branded as a constitutional landmine.
"It is not possible to reach an agreement in affront to the Constitution. We have a country, laws and a Constitution. Whatever we reach as an agreement must be within the law," Wetangula told journalists.
"Kenya will not take the road of agreements through hurried processes influenced by foreign states. We want a fully thought-out process because this is a Kenyan problem."
In a direct response to Bush’s call for power-sharing, Wetangula lashed out: "We will not be led, guided or given conditions by foreign states on how to reach a solution to solve the political impasse in Kenya."
And taking the cue was a group of 10 MPs from PNU and allied parties, who gathered at Hotel Boulevard and dismissed proposals on power sharing.
The MPs also told off President Bush and several envoys, including British High Commissioner Mr Adam Wood, over what they termed as, "infringing on Kenya’s sovereignty".
"It is unacceptable that close to 45 years after independence, we shall allow foreign domination to steal the dream we had at Independence," said part of the statement read at the press conference attended by Mr Peter Munya (Tigania East), Mrs Beth Mugo (Dagoretti), Mr Peter Mwathi (Limuru), Ms Wavinya Ndeti (Kathiani) and Mr Dick Wathika (Makadara), among others.
ODM has proposed a power sharing arrangement that will make the President head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, but cede his role as head of government to an executive prime minister, who has two deputies.
In the proposal, the President and premier are to share executive authority with proportionality at all levels of government.
PNU, however, wants the President to remain head of State and government in the event of a grand coalition, with the President appointing members of the Cabinet as he/she wishes.
The party also insists that positions already filled in the Cabinet must not be tampered with, reflecting a hardline position.
Today will represent another busy day on the talks trail, with Rice scheduled to land at 10.30am and thereafter meet with Annan at the Serena Hotel.
She will later meet President Kibaki, ODM leader Raila, and members of the civil society and business community.
Rice is expected to later brief the media before winding up her tour of Kenya.
