Muafaka wa Kenya JK did nothing labda la kukaa na Bush na kuchekacheka naye
Tibwilitibwili,
Soma hii na je bado unaamini JK hakufanya lolote?
How JK salvaged Kenya peace talks
By Tom Mosoba, Dar and Emman Omari, Nairobi
The inside story of how the Kenyan political deal was finally clinched on Thursday can be revealed today by The Citizen.
Sources said that Tanzanian model, where the President and the Prime Minister amicably share State responsibilities is what eventually won the hearts of the hardliners on the Government side.
The revelations emerged as the talks mediated by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan resumed at the Serena Hotel in Nairobi yesterday, but conspicuously missing was Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Martha Karua, who leads the four-member PNU mediation team.
Her colleague at the talks, Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetangula, said the minister was engaged in another assignment.
But sources from inside the shuttle diplomacy that culminated into the signing of the power sharing agreement between President Mwai Kibaki and his erstwhile rival, opposition leader Raila Odinga, said that it was only after the Tanzanian system was fully explained that the Government side agreed to salvage the deal.
President Jakaya Kikwete, it was revealed, was particularly instrument in persuading his Kenyan counterpart to accept creation of the post of executive premier.
"Kibaki was adamant on not relenting on ceding power to his rival but Kikwete thoroughly explained to him the Tanzanian model while giving his own experience," the sources said.
"It is not an easy job being in power. It is not a luxurious experience to shoulder the burden alone," President Kikwete was reported to have told Mr Kibaki, in an effort to convince the Kenyan leader to agree to the creation of the office for prime minister as his principal assistant in government.
This was during the Wednesday meeting between the two leaders without any of the government negotiators.
"This actually appeared to be the turning point and Kibaki only made one request. He asked Kikwete to make sure that the prime minister's office was not immediately entrenched in the constitution," said another source.
"Kibaki appeared to have understood Kikwete and actually from then on it was like a big step had been taken towards drawing the final document," the sources explained.
Only after this icebreaking, did President Kikwete agree to bring in Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and the government negotiators, namely ministers Martha Karua, Sam Ongeri and Mutula Kilonzo.
Yesterday, a source close to President Kibaki said: "A time comes when a leader must take the hard decisions on his own and what happened yesterday (Thursday) was one such moment. The President rose above party interests to make a decision for Kenya."
In Nairobi Mr Annan resumed the talks on what is commonly known as Agenda Four on long-term resolutions. They include comprehensive constitutional review within a year. His job will, however, be driven forward by Nigerian negotiator, Prof Oliweni Abenije.
Earlier on, President Kikwete, who is the African Union (AU) chairman, had held talks with Mr Raila Odinga and his team of negotiators at Grand Regency Hotel, where he was staying. Those present were Mr Musalia Mudavadi, Mr William Ruto, Dr Sally Kosgei and Mr James Orengo.
The Raila team, it was said, pleaded with President Kikwete to force a deal through as they feared worse violence would break out if his intervention failed.
"The ODM (Orange Democratic Movement) team reported that the Government was arming the dreaded Mungiki militia to cause mayhem across the country," explained the source.
Members of the government team had also their own worries and immediately sought President Kikwete's help as soon as he arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Tuesday.
An official in the entourage confirmed that Kenya's foreign minister Moses Wetangula almost begged Mr Kikwete at the airport to have Mr Annan rescind his earlier decision to suspend the talks.
Mr Annan had called off consultations with the two negotiating teams after Justice minister Karua, criticised him and fellow mediator, former Tanzanian President Benjamim Mkapa. She reportedly accused them of alleged incompetence when they argued the case for an executive prime minister.
Mr Wetangula conceded that the suspension of the talks had caught the Government off-guard and was not good for its image. "The minister told Kikwete to convince Annan to rescind his decision and resume negotiations."
In Dar es Salaam on Thursday, while addressing the media on his arrival from Nairobi, President Kikwete said he was not aware the talks had been put off when he arrived in Nairobi. He said: "On arrival at the JKIA, this minister (Wetangula) came announcing that things had taken a different twist with Mr Annan calling off the talks."
President Kikwete said from there on, he knew the Kenyan crisis was taking a dangerous turn. "Annan had, of course, called and asked me to join him. He said things were not comfortable but he abruptly ended the talks," said the AU chairman.
Revealing the negotiations that unlocked the stalemate, President Kikwete said he met Mr Annan and his predecessor, Mr Mkapa, to get a proper briefing.
In the meeting, Mr Annan insisted that the intervention of his team and President Kikwete revolve around the six-point agreement by PNU and ODM before the talks were cancelled.
"We looked at the document and put together the agreed areas and separated the sticking points that we were to hold talks around with Kibaki and Odinga," explained Kikwete.
The Tanzanian leader said the major problem was how to create the prime minister's office and powers he should enjoy in government and whether these powers should be entrenched in the constitution.
He said they embarked on the delicate mission to assure the two teams that it was possible to have both the president and prime minister working harmoniously.
"It is really like our case here with Mizengo Pinda (Tanzanian prime minister). The office bearer has the power to oversee control, supervise day to day functions of the government," President Kikwete said on Thursday at the airport.
In the negotiated deal, the new-look Kenyan government will have the president, vice-president, prime minister and two prime ministers.
The only difference between the Tanzanian and Kenyan prime ministers, he said, is that the former has the word control added while in Kenya they chose to only have one who would coordinate and supervise the functions and execution of government function.
President Kikwete said he had been moved by pleas from the many Kenyans he came across in the corridors of state and in the streets, who beseeched him to stay until a deal was struck.
He said he would be shocked if any of the Kenyan leaders reneged on any part of the long-drawn agreement.
Source: The Citizen