Bukusu elders now reject negotiated democracy

Some Bukusu elders have dismissed any chances of entering into negotiated democracy prior to the 2017 General Election. The elders said such agreements had failed miserably in the past.

The elders, who converged under the umbrella of the Bukusu Council of Elders (BCE), cited the Mabanga Accord in which communities living in the cosmopolitan county agreed to share elective positions and political appointments.

They said the agreement reached prior to the 2013 General Election was not adhered to and some of the communities did not benefit as negotiated hence their disinterest in a similar agreement ahead of the next polls.

In a statement signed by council officials representing the five sub-counties in the region, the elders indicated that the community regretted endorsing the previous power-sharing agreement, saying it was political fraud.

They disclosed that Ford Kenya and CORD would be their political vehicles.

"As a community, we will not participate in such negotiations as happened in 2013 since we were conned. The Mabanga Accord was only a political fraud... the other players were dishonest and we learnt a lesson," they said in a statement.

The statement released after a series of meetings indicated that they would present a list of preferred candidates for various political positions to the party.