Behind-the-scenes: Secret efforts to end political stalemate

Electoral commissioners and church leaders are this week expected to step up efforts to break the political impasse ahead of the repeat presidential election.

Some of the initiatives lined up are geared towards having President Uhuru Kenyatta and Opposition leader Raila Odinga negotiate a truce.

The Catholic Church, which has written to the President and the National Super Alliance (NASA) leader requesting a meeting to resolve the standoff over the October 26 presidential election, says it will seek responses today.

And the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is today scheduled to hold talks with envoys, who have separately met NASA leaders.

The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), which met IEBC officials on Friday, will begin a two-day retreat to formulate proposals to guide expected discussions with the politicians.

Taken together with last week’s meeting between Opposition bosses and Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) leaders, these initiatives are piling pressure for a peaceful resolution of the crisis that could escalate today with planned street protests by NASA to force the removal from office of IEBC officials blamed for bungling the August 8 elections. 

HARD-LINE POSITIONS

Since the Supreme Court nullified Uhuru’s victory on September 1, Jubilee and the Opposition have adopted hard-line positions that are threatening to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis.

Religious leaders, envoys and IEBC chiefs have been working behind the scenes to ensure that Uhuru and Raila meet to dialogue, especially after the collapse of talks involving their representatives and the electoral commission last Thursday.

To quell the rising political temperatures, the Catholic Church, under the auspices of the Kenya Catholic Bishops Congress (KCCB), NCCK and IEBC have this week lined up initiatives to bring the two sides together.

“We have already written to Uhuru and Raila. They have been quiet about it but we are optimistic that starting tomorrow (today), they should be willing to meet with us and other stakeholders involved in these efforts,” said KCCB chairman Bishop Phillip Anyolo.

“We are worried about the rising political temperatures. Our secretariat will write to the two principals for a meeting,” added Bishop Alfred Rotich, who heads the Catholic Peace and Justice Commission.

He said the talks were aimed at helping the two to understand that despite their personal ambitions, there were millions of Kenyans who should also be listened to.

“The level of emotion is really high. But this is the time the voice of reason must prevail. We all want to cross the river but we must first build a bridge. This can only be achieved through round-table dialogue,” said Rotich.

He also revealed that the bishops had met with IEBC and given their recommendations about what they think should be done concerning the October 26 election.

“Time is of the essence as there is anxiety in the country. Our leaders need to sacrifice their self-interests for reconciliation. We repeat our call made last Tuesday that the country needs dialogue and peace,” Rotich said.

Wafula Chebukati, the IEBC chairman, is today set to meet with foreign envoys as part of efforts to resolve the impasse.

The commission’s Communications Manager Andrew Limo said yesterdayIEBC had been engaging various stakeholders to create a common ground to end the standoff.

Mr Chebukati is keen to hear from the envoys after they met with NASA leaders last week.

OTHER GROUPS

“Maybe he (Chebukati) has decided meet with these other groups before he can get back to the political leaders since some of them have already held meetings with the two leaders separately,” said Mr Limo.

On Thursday, Chebukati said he wished to engage Uhuru and Raila directly after talks between Jubilee and NASA representatives collapsed.

Commissioner Roselyne Akombe could not confirm whether the chairman had formally written to the two leaders but said there was consensus that engaging them directly would help to iron out issues quickly.

“They are the candidates and it is the responsibility of the commission to continue engaging them in seeking a way forward,” said Dr Akombe.

Similarly, NCCK begins a two-day consultative meeting today in efforts to have the repeat poll held peacefully.

The retreat is a follow up to NCCK’s meeting with IEBC on Friday during which they presented case scenarios and possible outcomes should each camp continue holding their ground.

In the first scenario, where NASA accepts to participate, the polls would be peaceful and the country able to move on according to NCCK’s brief. But this, NCCK says, will only happen if concerns raised by the Opposition are addressed