Nairobi: Foreign diplomats pushing for dialogue between the National Super Alliance and President Uhuru Kenyatta want the public to determine the role opposition leaders Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka should play in the aftermath of the elections. It has emerged that lobbying, spearheaded by the US, UK and Germany and the clergy is not aimed at the ultimate formation of a government of national unity, an idea repulsive to the Jubilee Party.
Diplomatic sources revealed that they were yet to propose any particular roles for Odinga and Musyoka - who claim to have won the August 8, 2017 elections - in the talks they have so far held with them. “There are no particular roles suggested for Raila and Kalonzo. An agreement on their future should be spearheaded by Kenyans themselves,” said the source.
On Monday, Odinga confirmed that the diplomats, who he met alone at his Capitol Hill office in Upper Hill, Nairobi, with his co-principals Musyoka (Wiper), Musalia Mudavadi (ANC) and Moses Wetang’ula (Ford-K), have not suggested any position for him in the current set-up. Instead, he said US ambassador Robert Godec was pushing for talks between the two political sides over electoral reforms.
“They have not gone to the details of what it should be. They only talk of bringing on board more stakeholders. But I have stated that they are interfering in what is basically a Kenyan affair which should be left to Kenyans to solve,” he said on the telephone.
Dialogue
Last week, Godec said the US is not particularly pushing for any rewards or position for politicians but dialogue that will bring all Kenyans on board. “The US continues to be committed to a national conversation involving all Kenyans to build national unity, address long-standing issues and resolve divisions exacerbated by 2017 elections,” he said in a statement.
Earlier, some allies of Odinga claimed that the US was pushing to have Odinga elevated to a statesman as part of efforts to end the political standoff. The plan, they claimed, was to elevate the position to that of hierarchy of the ... State, complete with the trappings of state power.
The US wants the position to come with an office, a motorcade, staff and a commensurate package that will allow Odinga to travel the world promoting Kenya’s image and giving talks on democracy, one of them told the Nation.
The allies said part of the package would be a retirement deal commensurate with Odinga’s long career in the public service and a further promise to support his push for reforms.
Rejected
However, the former prime minister is said to have rejected the proposals, saying they do not represent the interests of Kenyans yearning for electoral justice. A source in Nasa said Odinga also rejected the proposal because it does not take care of the interests of the larger Nasa family. “Assuming I accept, what will I do with my colleagues in Nasa?” Odinga is reported to have asked the ambassador when the proposal was made. Odinga who is walking through a tricky path with his plans to be sworn in as the people’s president told the diplomats to keep off. “They cannot come to tell us who should be this and that. We are talking about a stolen election and our aim is reforms to bring about electoral justice. We have never talked anything about that,” he said. Nasa leaders have set January 30 as the deadline for talks with Jubilee party, failure to which Odinga will be sworn in as the people’s president and Musyoka as his deputy.
