Raila’s power game wrecked Kilaguni talks

Because he wants more powers, more money and a lot more respect as the Prime Minister, Raila Odinga deliberately wrecked the Kilaguni talks until his demands are met by Mwai Kibaki’s equally greedy team. In a surprise move that shocked the PNU delegates, ODM introduced new items in the agenda with the full knowledge that the items were as controversial as to be totally unacceptable to the coalition partners.

The plan was to raise the country’s sate of hostile political confrontation to such a high level as to threaten peace and stability everywhere. That alone would force Kibaki to a negotiation table to redraft the peace accord. Will Raila’s plan work? Time alone will tell; but whatever the case may be, it is such a dangerous risk that could easily lead the country to yet another tribal bloodbath that brought about the fragile coalition.

One year after signing the peace accord the ODM leader has realized that all he got from the entire exercise was a flag, a big office, a fat salary for himself and his selected friends and very little political power. His job description as the supervisor of government matters is effectively usurped by Francis Muthaura, the head of the Civil Service. He is not even able to speak authoritatively about the Government affairs as that responsibility is also effectively done by Dr. Alfred Mutua, the official Government spokesman.

After a year of frustration the ODM demanded the renegotiation of the pact that would make sure Raila got more powers and more jobs for his supporters. That demand was ridiculed by many including Kofi Annan who masterminded the Grand Coalition Government. Raila was left with no other option but to use other tricks to achieve his goals. Hence the surprise Kilaguni agenda followed by open hostility against Kibaki.

The controversial items in the Raila agenda at the Kilaguni include protocol and pecking order, security, remuneration , diplomatic treatment, decision making and Government communication, office of the Government spokesman, appointment of PSs, ambassadors , high commissioners, senior military officers, Public Service Commission, NSIS and Police.

Examining the issue of protocol may appear to be trivial as the debate about who has more powers between Raila and Kalonzo Musyoka, the Vice President, ended a long time ago. This time Raila wants to be Mwai Kibaki’s equal – same pay, same respect concerning protocol matters and same security arrangements. The fact that Kibaki’s powers are defined in the Constitution complicates matters, hence the demand for renegotiation of the pact.

For a very long time Muthaura and Mutua have bothered the Prime Minister so much because he feels the two are doing his job and making him appear subordinate to the President. He also feels it is about time his supporters were recruited in the army, the police and the NSIS regardless of obvious problems that may be caused by such a move which politicizes the sensitive security institutions. Raila also feels his many disappointed supporters could be comforted by appointments to ambassadorial jobs and positions of PSs. Needless to say, the Kibaki team feels those changes could only be made over their dead bodies. Hence the current political stalemate. If the deadlock is not sorted out soon it may very well see the end of the coalition government which will come with more deadly consequences than what faced the country last year soon after the sham general elections.

Coming at a time when the country is facing serious economic and unemployment problems , the current political squabbles between leaders already in comfortable and extremely lucrative political jobs, shocks the ordinary Kenyans who are struggling to survive. Many of them live from hand to mouth and they are aware of the fact that they are suffering because the leaders want to be more comfortable. The people know that among the leaders are the most corrupt individuals who would not care if the people starved to death as they steal all the food and public funds. Yet they don’t even want to pay taxes!

The international community must also be equally shocked by the greed of Kenyan leaders. Condemnations from international quarters have been made about extrajudicial killings and incompetence in general and corruption in particular. Suggestions were made that both the Attorney General and the Police Commissioner should be retired in public interest. Realizing that his present powerful position is owed to the international intervention in shaping and structuring the coalition government, Raila was quick to echo the current international dissatisfaction with governance of Kenya.

Whereas they helped him join Kibaki in forming the current Government, the international community may not be quick in backing the present Raila scheme which may destabilize the country and the entire region. Besides that, the international community is also aware that among Raila’s team in the Government are also some people who have been accused of corruption and nepotism. In other words in Raila’s side of the Cabinet are just as many skeletons as they are in the Kibaki side.

If ever there will be any international intervention to solve the current political crisis in the country it will not seek for the renegotiation of the accord. The ODM team is aware of that eventuality and that is why their demands have now been camouflaged in the form of the Kilaguni agenda.

The likelihood of ordinary people picking up arms to fight as they did a year ago is extremely remote. The people have learnt a lesson about who suffers and who gains when they are made to shed their blood to protect the very rich whose concern is only to get even richer. This however does not mean that the country cannot see another bloodbath as it witnessed a little bit more than a year ago. The fact is that there are many well organized gangster organizations that are ready to commit murder and other crimes on behalf of the politicians with a lot of stolen money.

One of the topics that was not discussed at the aborted Kilaguni meeting was the adoption of the Waki Report which, among other things , makes recommendations on how to deal with the criminals among our leaders who were instrumental for the death of well over 1,000 people about a year ago. They were also responsible for the desperate fate of well over 300,000 who were made homeless in their own country as a result of the clashes. Some of the suspects whose names are said to be in the Kofi Annan envelop were at the Kilaguni resort when the talks aborted. They must be extremely happy people now that the Waki Report has been forgotten because of disagreement among our leaders. What a terrible shame.