Uhuru and Raila hold meeting to promote healing

President Uhuru Kenyatta his Deputy William Ruto share a light moment with Former Prime Minister Raila Ondinga and his running mate Mr Kalonzo Musyoka at State House Nairobi.   NATION MEDIA GROUP

By ISAAC ONGIRI iongiri@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Saturday, April 13  2013 at  23:30

IN SUMMARY

• State House talks seek to reconcile deeply divided country following General Election
• The get together deliberated on importance of government staying away from key House oversight committees

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto on Saturday held a surprise meeting with Cord leaders Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka at State House, Nairobi.

The meeting, described as cordial by witnesses, however, caught allies of the four leaders unawares, coming just days after the hotly contested presidential election last month in which President Kenyatta won. Mr Odinga filed a petition in the Supreme Court and lost after two weeks of high-octane legal battle televised live.

Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka drove into State House at around 9.30 am in navy blue Mercedes Benz KBF 235N and left shortly after 1.30 pm after a lunch hosted by the President.

Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula, who is said to have travelled upcountry before the meeting was fixed, missed out. Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka later joined Mr Wetang’ula in Khwisero to attend the burial of the area MP Ben Andola’s mother, Mama Ellena Andayi, in Elwambililo village.

Government sources told the Sunday Nation that it is Mr Ruto who has been in talks with Mr Odinga over the last three days and who fixed the meeting meant to create an opportunity to reconcile the divided country after a gruelling political campaign last month.

The meeting, in which the two former top government officials were accompanied by a small group of aides, came just a day after an official at Harambee House reportedly ordered the large security detail previously seconded to the two scaled down and official government vehicles assigned to them surrendered.

At the meeting, sources told the Sunday Nation, it was agreed that Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka would keep a security detail of 12 officers each and that Police Inspector General David Kimaiyo would be asked to consider a chase car for the two leaders in recognition of their high political status.

The sources said that the question of how the formation of the government would work towards creating inclusiveness for the 5.2 million Kenyans who voted for Mr Odinga and his running mate Mr Musyoka also came up.

The meeting also follows comments by Mr Ruto made at the inauguration ceremony last Tuesday in reference to national healing asking foreigners and observers not to worry about Kenyans “because they know how to deal with their issues”. The Deputy President said that the Kenyan political landscape is always shifting but that is never the basis for permanent enmity.

A statement dispatched by both State House and Mr Odinga’s spokesman, Mr Dennis Onyango, said the meeting dwelt on uniting Kenyans and how to move the country forward after the divisive elections in which nearly half the voters supported either the President or the former PM.

The Presidential Press Service also published a picture of the four leaders in a jovial mood as they posed for photographs.

Saturday’s meeting came as the country waits for President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto to unveil their Cabinet which, sources privy to the two leaders say, could be named tomorrow in the afternoon.

“During the meeting, the Cord leaders conveyed their message of goodwill to the President and his deputy saying they wished them well in running the country,” read a statement dispatched by PPS.

State House further indicated that President Kenyatta expressed the willingness of the Jubilee leadership to nurture a working relationship with all Kenyans irrespective of their political affiliation in order to strengthen national unity.

Mr Onyango, who accompanied the two, said the talks by the four leaders focused on the State opening of the Eleventh Parliament on Tuesday, confirming that Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka promised to attend.

“The leaders also discussed modalities for a bipartisan approach to issues in Parliament, the leadership of critical House Committees and the role of the Minority party,” Mr Onyango said in a brief statement send to the media.

On Tuesday, Mr Odinga, Mr Musyoka and Mr Wetang’ula skipped the inauguration of President Kenyatta.

The State House meeting also deliberated on the importance of the government side keeping off key oversight committees in Parliament in favour of the opposition.Although the Jubilee coalition has only agreed to allow Cord MPs to lead the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Public Investments Committee (PIC), the ruling coalition is, however, keen to use its numbers to dominate the Budget and Appropriation Committee and the Local Authorities Funds committee which are also key to parliamentary oversight.

“President Kenyatta and Deputy President Ruto pledged that the Jubilee Coalition, which commands a majority in both Houses, is committed to ensuring the existence of a strong opposition party as a necessary tool for democratisation and to ensure a steady check on the government,” said Mr Onyango.

Former assistant secretary of State Jendayi Frazer, who was part of the diplomatic effort to end the violence that followed the 2007 diputed General Election results, issued a statement via Twitter congratulating “Kenya on moving forward” as signalled by the State House meeting.

Kisumu West MP Olago Aluoch praised Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka for meeting the President, saying it was a symbol of mature statesmanship.

Kibra MP Kenneth Okoth and Mwingi North MP John Munuve welcomed the meeting
.