"Nothing will come out of the talks, we are just managing Mzee and hence low pace. They first need to have internal dialogue, how can they expel their members yet they want to have dialogue with us?"
A UDA MP who did not wish to be named told The Standard: "When the president keeps saying he has dealt with Raila and that his next destination is Bondo, he basically means that he will use dialogue as a bait to technically deal with him politically as he embarks on a charm offensive mission to hunt Nyanza MPs."
"The strategy is working by hoodwinking Raila that we are in talks while in the actual sense we are buying time," said the MP.
Raila recently urged the Kenya Kwanza administration to approach the ongoing discussions with the same level of seriousness that characterised the Africa Climate Summit.
In response to Gachagua, he affirmed his coalition's unwavering dedication to the negotiations, expressing optimism about their prospects for success.
"We are fully prepared for these discussions, and I want to avoid making any statements that could undermine their progress. Let us allow the talks to proceed," said Raila.
Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina said it is unfortunate that the country is fixated on 'talks' one year after a free, fair and credible election.
"The basic tenet of democracy the world over is that minority have their say; while majority have their way. I'm quite skeptical of the talks yielding anything progressive for the common Kenyan, but that is to be seen," She said an added "What worries me is the precedent we are setting, that of encouraging election losers to feel entitled to a duly elected government," said the woman rep.
After a week of reviewing the public's submissions, the committee will be left with around 40 days to complete the talks as mandated by law.
The committee is expected to address several key issues, including auditing the 2022 presidential election, restructuring IEBC, looking into the cost of living, establishing State Offices including the office of the leader of opposition, preventing political interference, and implementing the two-thirds gender rule. The committee has also received calls to include a fresh issue after 26 MPs said they will be filing submissions for creation of 11 new counties.
However, if things unravel at the current speed, it is almost certain that Kenyans will be waiting even longer to have social and political issues settled through the second round of talks between the government side and the opposition.