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Don’t rush into power sharing,
Kalonzo warns
Story by OLIVER MATHENGE
10. Feb. 2008
Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka has said the government was
commitment to the ongoing dialogue, but warned against rushing
into a power-sharing agreement.
Mr Musyoka, who was speaking in Nairobi after arriving from a
four-day visit to the US and Britaib, said that a power-sharing
agreement may not necessarily deal with the causes of the current
crisis.
The VP asserted that the government is negotiating in good faith,
but added that the political solution being sought must address
issues such as who really won the election, and may also need to
provide a legal solution.
According to Mr Musyoka, the solution must also address the
underlying causes of the violence that rocked the country and the
hatred that has divided the Kenyan people.
Plight of refugees
“We must also address the plight of the over 300,000 Kenyans who
have been turned into refugees in their own country,” he said,
adding that justice must also be done to make sure that those who
killed others or destroyed property pay for their actions.
The VP, who was a presidential candidate in the December 27
General Election, spoke on the issue a day after the government
and ODM teams in the ongoing mediation agreed to drop their
hard-line stances and work on a power-sharing political solution
to the current crisis.
The National Dialogue and Reconciliation Committee agreed that the
presidential votes would neither be tallied again nor recounted,
while the proposal of holding fresh elections within six months
was also edged out. ODM will also no longer insist on President
Kibaki’s resignation.
Mr Musyoka asked Kenyans, and especially the media, to stop
speculating on the possible outcome of the ongoing mediated talks
being chaired by former UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan.
There has been speculation that the ongoing talks will resolve to
institute an interim government on a power-sharing basis between
ODM and PNU.
Current crisis
Mr Musyoka said that the form that such an agreement will take,
and its possible impact on the current crisis, will have to be
reviewed before a settlement is reached.
He added that Kenyans must remember that constitutionally, Kenya
is a multiparty democracy, but added that everything can be
discussed, and this must be done in good faith.
The VP said that he was happy that ODM’s Raila Odinga had agreed
to drop the conditions that he had placed on the negotiating table,
saying that this meant the opposition had recognised that Kenya
actually has a president.
Mr Musyoka also indicated that after his trip, the international
community now had the right understanding of the Kenyan situation,
saying that they now know that “President Kibaki was properly
sworn in”.
“The perception that had been created, especially by the media,
was that President Kibaki actually stole last year’s election,”
the VP said.
Rebuilding country
Mr Musyoka said that Kenya had a bottom line task of rebuilding
the country in order to regain the confidence of investors and the
international community.
He added that justice must also prevail in the ongoing dialogue,
and that Kenyans must be able to talk freely over what has
transpired through a truth and reconciliation commission.
Mr Musyoka told Kenyans not to think that he is not a part of what
is happening in the mediation, saying that he was the leader of
the government’s team involved in the talks.
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