Bernard Namunane and Kenneth Ogosia
24 January 2008
Nairobi — A ray of hope over an end of political crisis facing the country appeared Wednesday when ODM emerged from a meeting with the Kofi Annan-headed team and called off mass action rallies planned for Thursday.
An upbeat Mr Raila Odinga and Mr William Ruto accompanied by other ODM Pentagon members and officials came out of the meeting at Nairobi's Serena Hotel Wednesday night to announce the cancellation of the rallies "to give mediation a chance."
The party's press secretary, Mr Salim Lone, had earlier told journalists that mass action would continue.
It was one of the meetings in a day of extensive diplomacy and mediation when Mr Annan, the wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela, Mrs Graca Machel and former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, had a hectic day setting in motion moves to reconcile the rival political camps.
Mr Annan, a former UN secretary-general, and his team of international mediators had a busy day setting the groundwork for their efforts to end the post-election crisis gripping Kenya.
Meeting the Speaker
Mr Annan first presided over efforts to set up a secretariat to coordinate his team's work in Nairobi before meeting the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Kenneth Marende, and later Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
Mr Annan also set to understand the issues that brought about the dispute before meeting the two groups.
On a day characterised by high stakes diplomacy, Mr Annan was scheduled to meet separately with President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga later in the evening.
And President Museveni, who was expected to leave for home later in the day, extended his stay to continue playing a part in regional and international efforts to bring President Kibaki and Mr Odinga together.
The Ugandan leader shuttled between State House and Intercontinental Hotel for meetings with ODM leaders.
Mr Annan's aide said the former UN boss had made it clear that he wanted to have at his finger tips the details of the Kenyan story before meeting the two sides in the political dispute.
A member of his team, former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, turned provider of the details, from the disagreements over the tallying, to the subsequent violence and the efforts of former Presidents of Africa to strike a deal between the two sides.
A full-fledged secretariat has been established at the Serena Hotel to work out issues of contention and the positions of both sides and give the former UN secretary-general a position from which he will seek to reconcile President Kibaki and Mr Odinga.
Pushed back
The importance of being at home with the root causes of the conflict were so crucial that Mr Annan's schedule for the day had to be pushed back as they waited for the arrival of former Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano to give more details. Mr Chissano arrived at Serena Hotel at 4.55pm and joined the panel's session.
According to a schedule released at noon, Mr Annan's team was to meet Mr Marende at 2pm, and then proceed to State House, at 3.30pm for a one-on-one meeting with President Kibaki before the returning to the hotel at 6pm for a session with Mr Odinga.
Mr Annan is expected to meet with President Kibaki Thursday morning.
Sources close to the talks between President Museveni and President Kibaki's team on the one hand and ODM on the other said a judicial commission of inquiry, power-sharing and investigations into post election violence were some of the proposals being made.
Formation of a judicial commission of inquiry is proposed to investigate claims of vote rigging by both sides.
The sources said that the government has been insisting on naming members of the commission because it is the legitimate authority.
ODM wants a role in naming commission members with a three-month deadline to deliver their report.
While ODM is agreeable to an interim power-sharing deal, the government is insisting that it cannot share power with those it accuses of engaging in mass killings. Both sides agree to investigations into post-election killings, with the government insisting that the focus should be on whether the killings were organised or the work of criminals who took advantage, and to determine who was responsible.
ODM wants the inquiry to focus on police action and the use of live ammunition in quelling the violence.
Mr Ruto who spoke on behalf of the ODM team said the party believed if given a good chance, the talks will get the country out of the current political quagmire.
The Eldoret North MP said ODM wanted to give the mediation efforts a chance, regardless of Wednesday's interruption of a solemn ceremony to remember those who died during recent protests in Nairobi.
The meeting with Mr Marende took off as scheduled and ended at 3.15pm, but by 5.30pm, the Annan team had not yet left for State House.
ODM Pentagon members Joseph Nyaga, Charity Ngilu and Najib Balala arrived at the hotel at 5.25pm.
Mr Balala said: "We were told to be here by 6pm, and if they have not gone to State House, we really do not know what is happening. We are here to wait and hear what they will tell us."
Mr Odinga and Sabatia MP Musalia Mudavadi joined their colleagues about 10 minutes later.
Speaking after meeting the Annan team earlier in the day, Mr Marende expressed optimism that a solution to the political crisis was on the way because the facilitators had chosen the path of reconciliation.
He said that as the chairman of the House, he had placed on the table a number of proposals that could assist the Annan team to arrive at a solution.
Political solution
"As the head of the legislative arm of government, I put proposals on the table, among them, that whatever requires legislation, we are very willing to pass the rules that will facilitate a political solution to the current crisis," Mr Marende said.
It later emerged that the reason why Mr Annan's visit to State House was delayed was that President Kibaki and Mr Museveni had extended their session at State House.
Mr Odinga's press secretary, Mr Salim Lone, said the meeting between Mr Odinga and the Annan team had been pushed back by an hour to 7pm.
President Museveni later arrived at the Serena at 5.45pm to join the Annan team in an effort to come up with a common position on how to approach the process.
The Ugandan President had earlier in the day met ODM leaders at the InterContinental hotel where he expressed his concern over the implications of the violence in Kenya to the region.
He told Mr Odinga's team that should the violence persist, it would not only hurt Kenya's interests, but those of other regional states that depend on the Mombasa port.
Said Mr Lone: "President Museveni met Mr Odinga for two hours where he warned that if the violence is allowed to continue it would seriously hurt the region and all efforts must be made to find a solution."
The Ugandan President was reported to have told Mr Odinga that he was aware of the gravity of the political issues at hand and called upon ODM to work hand in hand with President Kibaki in finding a sustainable solution.
On his part, Mr Odinga briefed the Ugandan President on how the election was allegedly rigged, the evidence in their possession and their proposals on how the crisis could be resolved.
It later emerged that ODM were insisting that President Kibaki must first admit that the election was rigged in his favour and thereafter they would discuss options for a sustainable solution.
Mr Odinga, however, later remained pessimistic about President Museveni's role in the mediation and the timing of his visit as it coincided with that of Mr Annan.
Mr Odinga said the Government had placed President Museveni as a false confidence bridge in the eyes of Mr Annan and insisted his focus would not be diverted from dealing with the team appointed by Ghanaian President John Kufuor.
He told the Nation on phone that only a presidential re-run would bring back the hope of Kenyans whose votes were misdirected. For him to forfeit his four million votes was a great concession, he said.
President Museveni had earlier dismissed claims that Ugandan troops were in Kenya to assist in suppressing the post-election violence.
His Press Secretary, Mr Joseph Tamale Mirundi, explained that 90 per cent of Uganda's economy depended on exports and imports from Kenya.
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That is true, balakas
Halo, this Shikanda Farida from Mumias town, Western Province. First of all i would like to thank the Honourable Mr. Raila Amolo Odinga and the entire Pentagon members for the step they have taken,because this meeting with the UN-Secretary and the other visitors from the other countries does mean alot to us citizens of Kenya and do pray that it is going to bring a change in this country.
Secondly, I want to thank them again for the decision they came up with for calling off the mass action, this because I am a youth and I am very sad… [Read Full Text]
Much as I appreciate the mediation effort by these great men of Africa, I wish to express my displeasure on the way the process is being done. I think there is a duplication of effort as several teams are on the ground trying to mediate. Can thse leaders form one solid team, please? Otherwise, depending on the mediation skills of one team or person, the outcome of each meeting would be different from the other. This would eventually lead to confusion and further misunderstandings as both parties would at one point be tempted to make refernce to points and agreements… [Read Full Text]