"Ongoing bi-partisan talks must focus on national peace,” says MP

Nyeri

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

KNA by Samuel Maina

Tetu MP Geoffrey Wandeto now insists ongoing talks between Kenya Kwanza and Azimio la Umoja lawmakers must prioritize issues that will foster national cohesion but not on dishing out positions to serve personal ends.

He says the current government has a lot of work on its hands and therefore any discussion must therefore be tailored in a manner that will ensure President Dr William Ruto is given the chance to deliver his pre-election pledges.

Wandeto has also added that the talks must similarly address the root cause of cyclic violent protests that erupt after every general election and come up with a lasting remedy to the problem.

“We have to be very, very careful what we discuss with our brothers from Azimio (One Kenya coalition). First of all the President has pronounced himself and even the opposition has agreed they are not looking for nusu mkate (share in government) but we are yet to see if they are genuine. We had an election, there is a government in place which has an agenda. We have to be careful not to be derailed,” he stated during a morning talk show on Citizen TV yesterday.

The National Dialogue Committee that is being co-chaired by former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wa held its third sitting at the Bomas of Kenya Monday to assess the progress of the bipartisan talks.

Part of the contentious matters yet to be agreed upon include harmonization of issues to be discussed before formal talks can get underway.

A technical team has been mandated to iron out all the thorny issues before coming out with a common agenda which will be tabled before the committee on Friday this week.

Azimio la Umoja coalition has listed the cost of living, audit of the 2022 presidential election results and restructuring of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) as part of its points for discussion.

While agreeing on the need to restructure IEBC, Kenya Kwanza wants to push for the implementation of two-thirds gender rule and entrenchment of the National Government Constituency Fund (NG-CDF) into the constitution.

But while supporting the bi-partisan talks, Wandeto is blaming the opposition for what he says is a refusal to agree to recognise a legitimate government by rallying a section of the public to take to the streets on the pretext of fighting for their rights.

He also terms it suspect that the Opposition Leader Raila Odinga only came out to organize anti-government protests months after the controversy surrounding the August 9 presidential election had been put to rest by the Supreme Court.

“Why did we even get here? Why are we going to Bomas of Kenya? The people went to the general election on August 9 2022. After the Supreme Court pronounced itself everything seemed quiet for three months with nothing happening until January this year when we had these motions of demands over opening of (IEBC) servers and cost of living and the next thing we saw was violent demonstrations,” he argued.

Courtesy ; K. N. A