Kenya’s President William Ruto on Sunday, April 2, implored opposition leader Raila Odinga to suspend his weekly protests.
The president in his State of the Nation address instead asked Raila to participate in a bipartisan parliamentary committee, to address issues raised by the opposition leader through the Parliament.
“I suggest a bi-partisan engagement in Parliament on the reconstitution of the IEBC panel within the parameters of the law and the constitution,” the president said.
Moments later, opposition leader Raila Odinga agreed and insisted that the bipartisan committee proposed by the president be established immediately.
“We agree that a balanced parliamentary process co-chaired by both sides and backed by experts from outside should proceed. In our view, this committee should be composed with immediate effect with strict deadlines for resolving the crisis facing the country,” Raila said.
This saw the Head of State on Monday, April 3, direct National Assembly Majority leader Kimani Ichungwa and his Senate counterpart Aaron Cheruiyot to kickstart the process.
However, the veteran politician has made a U-turn and rejected the proposal to have his issues addressed through the parliament.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday, April 4, in Nairobi, the former Prime Minister indicated that a purely based Parliamentary process could not achieve the bi-partisan agreement arrived at by the two parties.
“A purely parliamentary process will not serve the intended purpose on the issues we raised,” Raila said.
Raila instead suggested the process to be people driven similar to that of 2008 which was spearheaded by Kofi Anan.
“Our suggestion at the national level through a process kin to the 2008 National Accord,
“We want this process to be akin to the process that Kofi Annan led. We want it to be a people-driven process,” he said.
Earlier, governance expert Fred Ogola warned Raila that the parliament route was not bipartisan and that William Ruto will still outshine him during the final outcome.
“You know why Ruto said consultations should be in parliament? He knows he rules Parliament and Ruto does not respect institutions. He believes in individual there,” the analyst said.
