Nairobi — The Government and ODM have given hints on what they would put on the table when talks aimed at ending the current political stalemate start in Nairobi.
The Government will first ask ODM to name its negotiating team to promote national reconciliation and also push to have any disputes arbitrated in court, according to a statement from the Vice President's Press Service.
ODM leaders, on the other hand, said they would seek President Kibaki's resignation and a rerun of the presidential vote.
Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka who heads the government mediation team said: "Let us not disown our courts. It is crucial that we uphold the independence of the Judiciary and follow due process; it is our responsibility as a regional bloc to respect the rule of law."
But speaking in Kisumu, ODM secretary-general Anyang' Nyong'o said the party "will push for a new UN- sanctioned electoral body, serialised and independently printed Form 16A, and independently recruited electoral officers."
Form 16A is the document on which returning officers record presidential votes garnered at constituency level for tallying by ECK.
Prof Nyong'o said they would also seek an acceptable time frame of preparation, campaigns and fresh elections.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is expected to arrive in Nairobi this morning as part of efforts to encourage dialogue between the Government and the Opposition. President Museveni is the chairman of the East African Community.
Kenyans have rested their hopes on the arrival of former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan to resolve the crisis sparked by the outcome of the December 27 General Election.
Mr Annan is expected to arrive in the country tonight.
According to a statement from the ministry of Foreign affairs, Mr Annan, will arrive in the country a few minutes past 8pm aboard a KLM flight.
Also expected in the country is former South African First Lady Graca Machel, whose plane is expected to land a few minutes to 3pm.
Another member of the peace panel, former Tanzanian President Mr Benjamin Mkapa is already in the country.
Mr Musyoka who leads a 10-member team named by President Kibaki expressed optimism that President Kibaki and Mr Odinga will meet soon to reduce political temperatures.
Eminent persons
He said his team expected to meet the one named by ODM in talks under the auspices of eminent persons of the AU.
Mr Odinga and ODM Pentagon members William Ruto and Musalia Mudavadi said they will be calling for President Kibaki's resignation to allow a fresh presidential vote.
Mr Ruto said the party will be seeking to know why President Kibaki has not "handed power to the rightful winner of the seat despite the fact that majority of the voters voted against him".
Mr Odinga asked supporters to remain firm but peaceful as they seek justice through the international mediators.
Meanwhile, 14 more people were reported to have died in the post-election violence on Sunday night and yesterday.
Five of them died in when raiders struck at Endebess, in Kwanza constituency, six in Molo and Kuresoi, two at Huruma in Nairobi and one in Kipkelion.
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Open Letter to Kalonzo
We certainly have one thing in common. Jesus Christ our Saviour. I guess then I should say Praise the Lord, Brother. My only pity is that you are already the stumbling block to peace. More than Raila and Kibaki. Your ambition is limiting the possibility of the talks. The talks for example may not be able to touch on your already negotiated Vice President position.
I am writing to you this letter as a Brother in Christ and a concerned citizen of the country to which you seem to be now contented with a Vice President position. My focus in this mail is the role of Christians in the resolution of the current crisis.
Well I am not keen to go down the way into examining how justifiable it is to assume the tag of a traitor really suits your recent political moves. This would really require that details of any prior association of whatever sort with Hon Kibakis PNU be put to the table.
Assuming that you never had any pervious deal to bend the vote pattern in some way to favour the incumbent side, I am now justified to look at your behaviour from the time it was you were not going to be the President of Kenya.
Just when the stalemate had started showing up and the ECK was conducting itself suspiciously, you never intervened to seek clarity or even add voices to the credibility required of such a body. Instead you called for the announcement of the results. One could probably assume that you knew your portion and it could not work out if the results went the other way. You have shown a character of a Christian who has lost a human sense. All that matters is you. Credibility is a campaign word that hardly has a position in the way you behave. No wonder you stayed within a government that was associated with mysterious deaths of Dr Ouko and Bishop Alexander Muge (a Christian for Gods sake). You probably were clean in all these. But you watched it happened without commenting or even condemning. All that mattered was you.
Does Peace matter to you? Sincerely?
You took the VP position after denying several times that you would not be unreasonable enough to accept it if when the country was still bleeding from the aftermath of the election. Has the country stopped bleeding now that you accepted the position?
After accepting the VP position, you made a speech that made it clear that you priority is to mediate and promote peace. In the same week you lead the team of ODM K and PNU to a retreat which was not to chat the way forward for peace, but to seal an MoU with PNU to be reserved positions within the cabinet including your VP position.
You have participated in mediation in several countries around Africa and I guess you can agree with me that towards the formation of convenience governments where power is shared to the satisfaction of each party, each partly should be open to proposals of the other. In the peace agreements, both parties will have their own demands but a compromise has to be reached. May be the compromise possible is that ODM takes your VP position. Does your signing of an MoU mean that you have locked ODM out of some possibilities? Does ODM-K therefore limit margin of peaceful settlements?
I am particularly amazed by how to this extent you can still cheat Kenyans that you are interested in peace. You moves are very cheap. Probably as cheap as the argument you advanced in parliament (of mere traditions) on the 15th January 2008.
To me you are like a self proclaimed doctor who has volunteered to serve a region witnessing massive deaths, but while at the scene, decides to invest in making wooden caskets. You thrive in the current stalemate and would never want it to end.
Seek Christ and Kenyans will remember you for justifiable moves. Forget about misleading Church leaders like Cardinal Njue and Pastor Adoyo who can do anything for money. Focus on Christ.
You can not imagine that at a crisis like this, the devil is already in the church.
Regards Collins Obura
well said, on the same note thanks to the just concluded elections.This will go to the historical annals by reducing most people into political oblivions,one such a person is Kalonzo,in the subssequent coming elections most of the voters will not trust him with the leadership of our country because he is now perceived as a traitor i title which cannot be erased overnight,it might cost him agreat deal,the same applies to Kibaki and Moi respectively,these two are sailing on the same terbulent political waves on the same boat none will attend there meettings if they happen to call such,While in Moi's case he has lost the title of that of being a statesman,a senior citizen and the cloute of his professarial,he will not be accorded the respect that he has been enjoying along because he chose to be partisan.On the same note Uhuru has lost his touch because he decided to abscond the role of official oppossition in the last parliament because of tribal inclinations.They all possess one factor in common,they are not in touch with the political reality and touch and most kenyans are more informed and mordant on political moves being made by them each passing day.
I don´t have much to say but, to ask mr. Odinga if he is a really kenyan?. Because if he do I don't see why he would like to see his people dieing the way they do and still he insist in violence. if he is a realy politician he would go to court than to allow poor people dieing and Iam sure that all his famillies might be in overseas watching people in the T.V. while he insist in violence. If he love his people, he wouldn't have insit in violence, because africans are tired of wars and violence. And the next he will be expecting now is conteners of arms to land in the kenya port, then he will be address as a warlord.