SATURDAY JUNE 18 2016
Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi, Cord leader Raila Odinga and Kanu secretary-general Nick Salat at a meeting in Nairobi on June 17, 2016. PHOTO | COURTESY
Cord leader Raila Odinga on Friday held a private meeting with a group of fellow opposition politicians on creating an alliance to counter Jubilee in 2017.
The Nation has learnt that Mr Odinga held a breakfast meeting with leaders of Amani National Congress Musalia Mudavadi, Narc Kenya’s Martha Karua and Kanu secretary-general Nick Salat along with a host of civil society officials comprising Kura Yangu Sauti Yangu movement to discuss the possibility of a unified front on electoral reforms and a stronger partnership towards the next elections.
The meeting took place at a hotel in Upper Hill, Nairobi. Mr Odinga then left for Milimani Law Courts to follow proceedings in the hate speech cases against five Cord MPs and three from Jubilee.
Though the main agenda of the private meeting was to ensure the opposition parties speak with one voice on reforming the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the electoral infrastructure, those familiar with the goings on, however, say the ultimate aim is to forge a unified opposition front similar to the National Rainbow Coalition in 2002.
“A unified opposition firing in one direction is an ideal to aspire to especially when the incumbent is hostile and reckless like Jubilee. It is a possibility I believe all of us will be ready to explore. For now however we are singly focused on reform of the IEBC. That is what we are giving priority to. Everyone in opposition agrees IEBC as currently constituted cannot deliver a free, fair and credible elections in a year’s time. We are agreed that we owe it to the future stability and security of Kenya, IEBC must change and on this I believe Kenyans will see the opposition pushing together,” Mr Odinga said through his spokesman Dennis Onyango.
Mr Mudavadi confirmed to Nation about the meeting but was not forthcoming about what they discussed.
“The agenda was to enable us sing from the same hymn book on electoral reforms so that we can be assured of a free, fair and transparent elections next year,” Mr Mudavadi said through his spokesman Kibisu Kabatesi.
According to Mr Mudavadi, though the issue of a unified opposition emerged, that was not the agenda.
“At the meeting, I told those who were there that we need to focus on electoral reforms that we can get before 2017 elections. My concern, which I expressed at the meeting was that Cord was clouding the subject with other Okoa Kenya issues, which though important, may not be achieved between now and August when the country heads to the polls because some of them require a referendum to implement,” said Mr Mudavadi.
But some of participants at the breakfast meeting said that the subject of a unified opposition was a key agenda.
“There is a shared feeling in opposition circles that we should try to form a broad coalition against Jubilee at least to help the country achieve some vital reforms before elections,” a participant, who requested to remain anonymous so as not to jeopardise future engagements, said.
Kura Yangu Sauti Yangu initiative has been pushing for an all-inclusive dialogue on electoral and other urgent reforms mediated by an international panel outside parliament to ensure that violence does not break out after 2017 election.
The initiative is made up of the Kenya Human Rights Commission, Independent Medico-Legal Unit, Constitution and Reforms Education Consortium and the Africa Centre for Open Governance. Other members are Civil Society Organisation Reference Group, Inuka Trust, Katiba Institute and the Kenyan Section for the International Commission of Jurists.
The Friday meeting is said to be the first to bring the key opposition leaders to one room to discuss possible unified front.
Some of the leaders have, however, been working with Cord. Narc Kenya’s Martha Karua was part of the Okoa Kenya drive and is generally believed to be working with Cord on other initiatives too.
That has not been the case with Mr Mudavadi and his ANC who have kept off Cord activities although they too have been calling for electoral reforms including overhaul of IEBC.
In fact, Mr Mudavadi was initially seen to be working with Jubilee since the 2013 General Election though he has lately been distancing himself from the ruling coalition.
Those close to him say he is not opposed to a structured coming together of rival opposition groups into a unified anti-government camp.
Whether Mr Odinga, or the civil society, can unite the various parties, is uncertain. This is because the opposition has for long been divided along tribal and personal lines.
This came as the Nation learnt that the bipartisan select committee on electoral reforms is set to get down to work on Tuesday after weeks of haggling over the scope and terms of negotiations mediated by foreign diplomats and religious bodies. This is after both Jubilee and Cord coalitions ceded some ground on some of the most contentious issues that almost stalled the talks amid rising political talks.
Mr Odinga on Thursday threatened to suspend all aspects of engagement with the government side until MPs facing hate speech charges are released. Mr Johnson Muthama (Machakos Senator), Junet Mohamed (Suna East MP), Aisha Jumwa (Kilifi Woman Representative), Timothy Bosire (Kitutu Masaba MP) and Florence Mutua (Busia Woman Representative) and their Jubilee counterparts Moses Kuria (Gatundu South), Kimani Ngunjiri (Bahati) and Ferdinand Waititu (Kabete) were on Friday released on bond.
On Saturday, Tongaren MP Eseli Simiyu said the arrests had derailed the process and they would pick it up from tomorrow.
“We hope to have something to report on Monday on how to proceed,” said the Ford-Kenya MP, who is a key member of the Cord team.
A refined copy of motion on the establishment of the committee that is before each parties seen by the Nation shows that the proposal by Mr Odinga to have the body have an expanded mandate beyond the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission did not see the light of the day.
Cord had wanted the team to discuss the issuance of national identity cards to all adults and voter registration. Cord also seems to have lost out on its pitch to have coalition leaders President Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Odinga sign the document as adopted by the Select Committee. Instead, the proposal is that the majority and minority leaders in Parliament will sign the final report and prior to its presentation in the House.
The opposition has been battling Jubilee on electoral reforms since 2014 when its major affiliate, ODM, took a petition to the National Assembly seeking the disbandment of IEBC. The petition was rejected. Cord later embarked on collection of signatures to force a referendum on a range of issues including electoral reforms. This bid flopped after IEBC rejected the signatures.
Cord then embarked on weekly protests which have forced Jubilee to agree to come to the negotiating table.
Additional reporting by Justus Wanga
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