Ruto the hard ball player; radical stand is part of his political DNA

 

President William Ruto attends Interfaith Church Service at Mwatunge ground in Taita Taveta county on July 23, 2023. [PSC]

Is there a possibility of Azimio la Umoja One Kenya leader Raila Odinga and President William Ruto resolving the current political stand-off without a mediator?

Raila claims Ruto has shown lack of faith and trust in genuine talks to resolve the political stand-off after he allegedly invited and snubbed Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

President Ruto insists there is no need for mediation because issues raised by the opposition can be discussed through face to face talks between them at any time.

“My friend Raila Odinga, I’m off to Tanzania for a human capital meeting to harmonise the expansion of employment opportunities on our continent. I’ll be back tomorrow evening, and as you have always known, I am available to meet one-on-one with you anytime at your convenience,” Ruto tweeted this week.

Raila allies like Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo, however, expressed displeasure with the manner in which the President ‘invited’ Opposition’s Raila Odinga for talks through social media.

The opposition leader himself claims it was improper for the President to keep the Tanzania leader waiting at a hotel in Nanyuki for two days after she agreed to help mediate the issues Azimio supporters have been protesting over.

“I insist there must be somebody between us. President Ramaphosa (Cyrille) of South Africa wants to come but Ruto has refused. President Suluhu is there. There must be an intermediary between us even if it is a former president,” tweeted Raila on Thursday.

Raila paints President Ruto as a hardliner whose government he claims is allegedly involved in extra-judicial killings by police against unarmed civilians exercising their constitutional right of demonstrating and picketing. The president is indeed known for playing what he himself calls Kukaa ngumu (hardball) and his current position appears to be like a throwback to what transpired during the Serena talks chaired by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan after the 2007 post-election violence.

Annan also told journalists after the talks in 2008 that Ruto who at the time was representing Raila’s ODM side and then Justice Minister Martha Karua who was in President Mwai Kibaki’s team (now in Raila’s camp) were stumbling blocks in the negotiations

After five weeks of inconclusive talks, with Ruto and Karua creating obstacles, Annan decided that the deadlock could only be broken if President Kibaki and Raila personally and directly negotiated an agreement.

“I couldn’t let them hide behind the mediators any longer,” Mr Annan told American journalists after the talks.

Only five individuals were present at the decisive meeting in Nairobi on February 28 and they were Annan, President Kibaki, Raila and the former presidents of Tanzania Benjamin Mkapa and Jakaya Kikwete.

“Five elders for five hours and they got there,” an Annan aide, Meredith Preston McGhie said. “All that was missing was the village tree. This was an African solution to an African problem.”

The Christian Science Monitor after interviewing Annan reported that at the negotiating table, Ruto and Karua fulfilled their roles as champions of their respective parties: Ruto the emotional shouter, Karua the poker-faced attorney.

Lucky enough for Annan and his team, another personality type was present as well in conciliators Mutula Kilonzo from Kibaki’s PNU and James Orengo on the ODM side who managed to help steer the ship.

A columnist for the International Herald Tribune and New York Times Roger Cohen also recounted bitter exchanges involving Karua and Ruto.

It was reported that Karua charged that Annan is biased in favour of Raila’s ODM and accused the former UN secretary general of attempting to engineer “a civilian coup” by proposing that Raila occupies a prime minister’s post with substantial executive powers.

Unlike the current situation where fighting has pitted demonstrators against police resulting in tens of deaths since March, the 2007 violence that resulted into talks between Kibaki and Raila was mostly because of politically instigated ethnic clashes.

The death toll rose rapidly from 270 in the first week to at least over 1,000 by late January 2008, with an estimated 500,000 Kenyans displaced, over 100,000 of them children.

That is when the UN brought in Annan assisted by Mkapa and former First Lady of South Africa Graca Machel. Although some in Kenya Kwanza argue that the country doesn’t need a mediator, some political analysts think it is the only way out because Parliament appears to have been captured by the Kenya Kwanza government, thus making MPs voting robots.

Speaking on Wednesday, lawyer Ishmael Nyaribo, the Director Legal Affairs – Africa Claims Ltd, said it is important for neighbouring leaders to assist in resolving disputes among leaders and other governance challenges.

He argued that there is nothing wrong with Kenya’s neighbours and brothers in the region like Ramaphosa and Suluhu offering to mediate just like our President accepting to help in the Sudan conflict.

“What is wrong with telling a neighbour can you please come and see what this problem is so that it can be resolved. Kenyans should be more reasonable and logical instead of making it a hard for the president,” says Nyaribo.

The Executive Director Centre for Multi-Party Democracy (CMD) Franklin Mukwanja also thinks Kenyans are increasingly pessimistic about the cost of living and the government’s ability to fix the problem.

He therefore argues that there is need to go beyond parliament which is increasingly failing to be a house of important debate that can reach a common ground on burning issues that affect Kenyans.

Jitters in Azimio, Kenya Kwanza over plans for Ruto, Raila talks

He, however, roots for a structured homegrown process instead of inviting foreign leaders to come and resolve issues that are already under discussion.

“There is need for a structured, people-centred and focused discussion on issues that the majority of Kenyans want sorted through a wide ranging conversation that is inclusive and representative and one not just packed with politicians,” says Mukwanja.

Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition leaders led by Raila are, however, demanding that only foreign mediators can address serious issues like the attack on multi-party democracy that is crippling the opposition.

Their demands keep growing and are now also profiling killings, maiming and injuries allegedly committed by police and also demanding that article 37 of the Constitution be respected as provided in the Bill of Rights.

Those are some of the issues they want addressed by mediators as they also call for the repealing of the Finance Act which they argue can be done to reduce the cost of fuel and remove the housing levy if President Ruto ordered MPs he controls in parliament to do so.

Speaking on Thursday, ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna said president Ruto does not even have to sit down with Raila for any discussions because all he needs to do is what about 90 percent of Kenyans wanted removed in the Finance Act.

“Catholic bishops have proffered a way forward. Repeal the Finance Act because that is what the people are saying. You don’t have to talk to Raila. The problem in this country is listening what the people say and not Raila,” said Sifuna.

Debate over whether mediation is necessary or not was also a trending topic of discussion on social media with lawyer with former Constitution of Kenya Review Commission Secretary PLO Lumumba arguing that it was uncalled for.

He said is was wrong to invite African leaders to help resolve the cost of living and repeal the Finance Act when that can be done by parliament.

“Mzee Raila , kindly tell Kenyans why we need other Africans of goodwill to solve our domestic issues relating to Finance Bill and Cost of Living when we have highly paid parliamentarians  and other elected officials,” said PLO.

Mukwanja differs, saying that although Kenyans know the issues to be discussed there are spoilers among the political class who may want to benefit from the ongoing stand-off.

His opinion is that talks should be all inclusive instead of it being a parliamentary process because political elite only fight for their position and interests.

“Elite cohesion in this country has not sorted our problems and as long as the way forward is about elite settlement of issues then we will not solve anything because they will then be able to quickly agree on a number of things including just changing personnel in IEBC when we need a complete structural overhaul of outstanding issues,” he added.