Raila Odinga's team pushes anti-IEBC demos to Thursday as Jubilee digs in

CORD co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka (second right) hugs the Rev Calisto Odede of Nairobi Baptist Church after a service Sunday. PHOTO: STANDARD

NAIROBI: The Opposition last evening bowed to political, diplomatic, business and religious pressure and called off the countrywide weekly protests in what their leaders said was to “give dialogue a chance”.

The CORD negotiators, who spent the whole weekend in meetings to cut a political deal on the fate of the electoral commission, said they had submitted a secret memo to the ruling Jubilee coalition with a set of demands that have to be met before the talks to begin.

Addressing a news conference, senators James Orengo (Siaya), Johnstone Muthama (Machakos) and MP Junet Mohammed (Suna East) gave the ruling Jubilee administration 48 hours to respond, or risk the demos on Thursday.

“We have passed a very concrete document with all the outstanding issues to the Jubilee side but we have not received any response. We are ready to give room for dialogue. By Wednesday if we will not have received any response from Jubilee, we’ll have no choice but to resume our demo on Thursday,” said Orengo.

The view from the CORD negotiators is that the calling off of the street protests was part of their “goodwill and faith that there’s light at the end of the tunnel”.

“Tomorrow (Monday) there will be no demos countrywide to give Jubilee time to address the demands not only in terms of content but to also provide a way in reforming the IEBC. We have put all the cards on the table,” said the Siaya senator.

CORD has had issues with the size of the dialogue team, its independence from Jubilee’s legislative dominance, timelines and the finer details on how to send commissioners home, and how to pick their replacements.

Yesterday, former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, one of the CORD leaders, said the Opposition had a “reform package” that had to be agreed on, then taken to Parliament, where it will be approved without changes.

“We were engaged in proximity talks and we have given major concessions. There have been interlocutions between the Church, business leaders and diplomatic corps. It is not our wish to stay on the streets but if that is what it will take for Jubilee to understand that this country is bigger than one individual, we will go on,” said Kalonzo after a church service at the Nairobi Baptist Church, Ngong Road.

According to Kalonzo, CORD will only be ready to engage if Jubilee agrees to a reform package that will then be forwarded to Parliament and passed without changes.

He added: “The issues we have raised are weighty. We don’t see how we can go to the elections with the IEBC as currently constituted.”

But as CORD spoke, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Jubilee MPs threatened to kick off the parliamentary talks with or without a team from the Opposition.

While CORD favours direct talks similar to the Serena process that gave rise to the National Accord, the ruling coalition is pushing for a parliamentary process.

MPs Dennis Waweru (Dagoretti South), Moses Kuria (Gatundu South), Elisha Busienei (Turbo), Rachel Shebesh (Nairobi Woman Representative), John Njoroge (Kasarani) and Anne Nyokabi (Kiambu Woman Representative) said the ruling coalition would tomorrow table and approve names of its 11 members to the joint National Assembly and Senate select committee.

“We are ready and we will not wait. National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale will on Tuesday present the names in Parliament so that we can start collecting views from Kenyans,” said Waweru.

The Jubilee leaders further accused CORD of causing anarchy through the weekly protests. They threatened that they would not sit back while their electorate were suffering business losses in Nairobi.

“Let them protest but not to vandalise property, because that would be a declaration of war,” said Mr Kuria, who is among the 11 Jubilee MPs to sit down with CORD and hammer out a deal in the House.

The leaders further announced that starting next Sunday, they will hold prayer rallies in Nairobi aimed at uniting the country.

The threat to bulldoze the talks inside the august House came as the Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet moved in to avert a street clash during protests.

Though Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery banned all protests in the country, Boinnet echoed President Uhuru Kenyatta’s view that police will provide protection to all peaceful protesters.

“Their planned demos are allowed and we will provide security for the same. We urge the organisers to provide us with the route, time and intended destination to help us plan well and accordingly,” said Boinnet.

President Kenyatta has maintained that his Government will not relent on its stand to support a Parliament initiative to resolve the IEBC deadlock.

“There is a right to demonstrate by every individual. They can picket for whatever reason and, again, the Constitution doesn’t make that right absolute. The law lays out a very important condition in terms of demonstration, that they must be peaceful. Please “watu waheshimiane” (people should respect each other). Follow the law and everything should be okay,” stressed State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu at a news conference at State House.

The Senate Deputy Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen (Elgeyo/Marakwet), who is also one of the Jubilee Eleven, said no deal will be done outside the House.

“Nothing will be discussed outside the confines of the committee. CORD has no monopoly on the fate of IEBC,” he said.

Reports by Graham Kajilwa, Moses Nyamori, Wilfred Ayaga, Jacob Ng’etich, Roselyne Obala and Cyrus Ombati