Men of character entered into a deal to save the country from a brink of colapse. Kenyans saw that as a long awaited gift - peace. Now they are waiting to see justice done. Equal opportunities for all ethnic groups.
Recently, Raila said there was need to have a conference on ethnicity. This is a good move. Let all 42 groups meet and get a common ground so that Kenyans may live without fear of the same killings that was seen being repeated during the next general elections.
Published by Korir, API africanpress@getmail.no source.nation.ke
Story by GITAU WARIGI
PNU moved to calm unease ahead of debate
Garsen MP Danson Mungatana’s timing was oddly off. Calling a press conference to complain about “anomalies” in the power-sharing Bills was like crying over spilt milk. The National Accord and Reconciliation Bill and the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill had already been okayed by Parliament the previous day with no nays on the roster.
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| President Kibaki arrives for the opening of the 10th Parliament. Photos/FILE |
It is probable that Mr Mungatana is just one of a small band that refuses to reconcile themselves to the inevitable. Or it could be that his emergence, which everybody else seemed to ignore, was a sign that there was more than met the eye within PNU, specifically on the question of power-sharing.
The previous day, the PNU parliamentary fraternity had congregated at the Windsor Club in Nairobi for what was billed as a parliamentary group (PG) meeting. Indeed it was, with even Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka in attendance. President Kibaki happened to be in Nyeri attending the passing-out parade of police recruits at Kiganjo Police College.
But the Windsor meeting somehow looked pre-emptive. A week earlier, a group of Central Kenya MPs had met at Railway Club in Nairobi to discuss some burning issues. One of them was to seek an appointment with President Kibaki over what they felt should be their place in the new power-sharing environment.
They also reportedly discussed the issue of voter balance. They felt population parity when creating new constituencies should be made a condition in the proposed constitution review.
As one of the MPs put it, “We got more or less the same votes in the General Election. But we got only 43 MPs, and they (ODM) have 99.”
And, of course, there was heartfelt talk about the internally displaced people in Rift Valley Province who should get priority, it was put, before even power-sharing laws.
Grouping of backbenchers
This Central Kenya parliamentary grouping has been in existence since the last Parliament. Ministers and other insiders from the region normally steer clear of it.
It has mainly been a grouping of backbenchers who often feel left out of the thick of things. The previous chairman was the former Ndaragwa MP, Mr Muchiri Gachara. The current chairman, or so it is understood, is the new Mathira MP, Mr Ephraim Maina, the contractor-owner of Kirinyaga Construction Company.
President Kibaki never bothered to meet this parliamentary group during his first term, and it is unlikely he wishes to now. According to one of his former minders, he thought the thing would portray him in a parochial light.
Nonetheless, it is clear the President understood the Railway Club meeting was not to be ignored, especially because it reflected the groundswell of resentment towards the power-sharing deal among many Central Kenya luminaries.
However, this resentment is something that has been kept carefully muted in the current national mood of reconciliation.
One participant at the Railway Club meeting disclosed that there would be a follow-up meeting the following Tuesday where the free-flowing discussions would be solidified into concrete resolutions. And that is when matters got interesting.
Windsor Club
Seemingly out of the blue, the authorities announced there would be a PNU meeting at Windsor Club to be chaired by Mr Musyoka. The President would conveniently be away.
The reason for the PG meeting was to mobilise support for the power-sharing Bills that were going to be tabled in Parliament that afternoon.
It transpired that within President Kibaki’s inner circles, a certain wariness had developed to the extent that his own backyard was strategising on some sort of rebellion against the power-sharing Bills that the President had staked his reputation internationally on.
Something that seems to have bothered these circles a great deal was the feeling that their man was basically looking after himself and not their “community’s interests.”
Organising PG meetings is normally the job of the Chief Whip who, in this case, is the new Juja MP George Thuo. He is clearly a rising star in PNU circles with a reputation for being ambitious and smart, though somewhat partial to where his bread is best buttered. It is clear, however, that in this instance, he was acting at the behest of higher-ups who had an urgent interest to rope in the restless Central Kenya group of MPs.
If there had been any agenda of rebellion from the Railway Club meeting, it was obvious this PG meeting would be the best antidote.
After all, the presence of ODM-K MPs, led by the VP, and MPs from other PNU-allied parties like Kanu was certain to diffuse what seemed to be parochial grievances of the Central Kenya core. Whoever planned this meeting must have had this in mind.
One of the highlights of the meeting was a presentation by lawyer Githu Muigai and another scholar from the University of Nairobi on the nitty-gritty of the power-sharing legislation.
On the face of it, it looked curious to call outsiders to explain to the gathering matters of law when this particular PG group is choke full with lawyers, some of whom are quite senior, such as Mbooni MP Mutula Kilonzo, who is a Senior Counsel.
Ms Martha Karua is no junior lawyer herself and, indeed, together with Mr Kilonzo represented the government side in the Kofi Annan-led mediation talks.
On top of this, there is the Attorney-General himself, who bats for the government side, and who actually drafted the particular legislation.
But it appears the forces behind the meeting were careful to have people not connected with government explain the Bills to the restive camp of MPs. Hence, the decision to keep AG Amos Wako as well as Mr Kilonzo and Ms Karua on the backseat. Whether this restive camp was fully mollified is another matter altogether.
However, President Kibaki was not ready to take chances. By all indications, that is why he appeared in person in Parliament to support and vote for the Bills. As was widely reported, it was an unprecedented act by a sitting President. President Kibaki had to fly all the way from Kiganjo in order to make it in time to Parliament.
But the long and short of it is that he may have wanted, through personally appearing in the House, to nip in the bud any lingering intentions by some PNU MPs to place roadblocks on the Bills.
As it were, the gambit worked. Somebody like Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri seemed to be supporting the Bills with a heavy heart but could not quite bring himself to challenge them with the President present in the Chamber.
One PNU MP who requested anonymity put it this way, “We had not planned on rejecting the Bills as such. All we had wanted was clarity.” If that was the case, then the coming out of somebody like Mr Mungatana when the Bills had already been passed was a case of locking the stable after the horse has bolted.
It would be surprising if the President’s minders were caught unawares, as they almost always are, by this discontent within their own ranks. As German Ambassador Walter Lindner has been saying, coalitions are never a love affair. In other words, this kind of gamesmanship is neither unusual nor surprising in the circumstances.
It was by no means only the PNU rank-and-file that wanted clarity on the matter. During the actual session in Parliament, Kisumu Rural MP Anyang’ Nyong’o had complained that the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill had no schedule of implementation or interpretative summaries as is normal with such Bills.
When AG Wako rose to respond, he gave a cryptic answer to the effect that this was a matter best handled by President Kibaki and Prime Minister-designate Raila Odinga.
About a week before the Bills were passed, Head of the Public Service Francis Muthaura gave his version of where he thought the prime minister’s office stood in the political pecking order. Mr Muthaura is, of course, a much bigger gun than Mr Mungatana and who, by the nature of his job, is supposed to be politically circumspect. For him to show his hand was an indication of real concern at certain very high levels.
Basically, there is the big fear that ODM’s entry into government will crowd out jobs and opportunities that some PNU operatives thought they would have benefited from if the government remained entirely PNU.
Robust personality
But equally worrying for them is that the robust personality of Mr Odinga will effectively overshadow the plodding one of President Kibaki.
There are lingering memories of how a forceful person like Mr Simeon Nyachae once occupied the position of Chief Secretary and soon transformed it into something never seen before or since in the Civil Service.
To complicate matters, there are succession issues running parallel to the power-sharing deal itself. Kanu has been busy trying to sell Mr Uhuru Kenyatta for the deputy-prime ministerial slot reserved for PNU.
Narc-Kenya has itself been having meetings to push for Ms Martha Karua. And beneath it all, the real plans of Internal Security Minister George Saitoti remain largely unclear.
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African Press International (API)
