HBC Row : Raila Flexes his Muscles

Raila Odinga is literally flexing his muscles in Parliament and scaring the whole nation. His efforts to snatch more executive powers from President Kibaki have now spread from Kilaguni to Parliament. The Prime Minister is officially challenging Kibaki’s orders to nominate Kalonzo Musyoka as the Leader of Government Business and Chairman of the House Business Committee (HBC) and instead he has nominated himself to occupy the two powerful positions in the Legislature. As the political quarrels between the two giants continue, the country is facing a political crisis when Parliament cannot function and yet no fresh elections can be held without an electoral commission.

Though Raila has not categorically said so openly, it is now clear that his main goal is to become a real executive Prime Minister while reducing the President to a mere figurehead for ceremonial purposes. If this is the case then the country is headed for a major constitutional crisis because Section 23 of the Constitution clearly says the executive authority of the Government of Kenya shall vest in the President and, subject to this Constitution, may be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinates to him.

That notwithstanding, Raila is obviously aware of Subsection two of the same part of the Constitution which also categorically says nothing in this section shall prevent Parliament from conferring functions on persons or authorities other than the President. Kibaki may have constitutional powers to appoint the Leader of Government business, but Raila can usurp those powers by using the Legislature to appoint himself the Leader of Government Business as well as the chairman of HBC.

In other words the Parliament in Kenya can be manipulated by Raila to fulfill all his political ambitions regardless of what Kibaki wants. After all, Raila controls the majority in Parliament. So if there is supremacy of the Legislature in Kenya that supremacy is vested in the office of the Prime Minister who controls the Parliament. From now on the country will see Raila making full use of Parliament to exercise his powers to the total amazement and disgust of Kibaki and his Mount Kenya Mafia.

The fact that the Prime Minister can hold the entire Legislature to ransom can easily be proved by the manner in which Parliament has been totally incapable of selecting a leader of Government Business and Chairman of HBC – all because Raila has not approved the appointment by Kibaki. This crisis could easily have been avoided if Kibaki consulted Raila before appointing Kalonzo to the high office in the legislature. After all the agreement on the principles of partnership of the coalition government clearly indicated that neither side can realistically govern the country without the other. It suggests that there must be real power-sharing to move the country forward and begin the healing and reconciliation process.

When the country was ungovernable following what amounted to a civil war after the sham election of 2007, the two leaders agreed to overcome the crisis and set the country on a new path. As partners in a coalition Government, they committed themselves to work together in good faith as true partners, through constant consultation and willingness to compromise. In this regard, Kibaki has not been consulting Raila as much as the agreement demands and on the other hand, Raila does not appear to be any more willing to compromise as the agreement says. Both sides seem to be influenced by well known hardliners who benefit from the political tug-of-war between the two leaders.

Unfortunately this time the rope used in that tug-of-war is about to snap, threatening to through the country in a deep quagmire of political misunderstanding that may yet again see bloodbath and tribal animosity, which the country can do without. The agreement the two leaders signed on February 28th 2008 and witnessed by President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and Mr. Kofi Annan was designed to create an environment conducive to a partnership that would build mutual trust and confidence. It clearly says that its purpose was not about creating positions that would reward individuals.

The manner in which Raila is fighting to gain more powers and prestige both in and out of Parliament could therefore be said to go against the spirit of the agreement because what he is demanding is the creation of positions that would reward him individually. With him officially in charge of all the activities of the Legislature he will have gained a major step towards becoming a real Executive Prime Minister of the Republic of Kenya. Incidentally, that is the title ODM refers him to instead of the Prime Minister of the Government of Kenya as the both the agreement and the law calls him.

If Prime Minister Raila Odinga can be accused of creating positions for himself in a manner that was discouraged by the agreement of February 28, then Kibaki can equally be accused of frustrating the Prime Minister and not allowing him to perform his duties according to the that same agreement which says the Prime Minister shall have the authority to co-ordinate and supervise the execution of the functions and affairs of the Government including those of the Ministries. Of late Raila has complained that Kibaki does a lot behind his back including the appointment of Kalonzo Musyoka as the leader of Government Business in Parliament.

According to the preamble of the February 28th agreement the crisis triggered by 2007 disputed presidential elections brought to the surface deep-seated longstanding divisions within the Kenyan society. If left unaddressed, these divisions threatened the very existence of Kenya as a unified country. These are the words that Kenyans want Raila and Kibaki to remember this weekend before Parliament reconvenes next Tuesday. They must put the country before their personal goals and as the preamble of the February 28th said: “The Kenyan people are now looking to their leaders to ensure that their country will not be lost”.

Next week the Speaker of the National Assembly, Kenneth Marinade, will chose between Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka to lead the House. If he picks Kalonzo ODM MPs are likely to make his work extremely difficult with a Parliament becoming dysfunctional. On the other hand if he picks Raila, Parliament will become the Prime Minster’s political instrument to gain more powers. Either way the spirit of the February 28th agreement seems to have disappeared in thin air. That is bad news for Kenya.