Many questions have been asked about the events of Friday at Harambee House in Nairobi.
The most asked question is where were the other three NASA co-principals? The answer is we were not aware, briefed, consulted, or invited.
This leads to the second question: Was the meeting a culmination of the dialogue NASA has been agitating for?
The answer is NO; there may be a semblance of issues dear to NASA that relate to electoral justice and governance, but that is all. NASA advocates for an
all-inclusive national dialogue on the wellbeing of all Kenyans and not a deal between two people.
For the record, and on the basis of the statement released, I can therefore categorically state that the meeting was between two individuals.
It does not bear the imprint of the NASA Summit.
It was not processed through the NASA structures. Indeed, nowhere does the MoU allude to or mention NASA, including the signing off. Instead, the two repeatedly invoke their names and personally commit to each other and not to all Kenyans.
So, why are Kenyans who have been calling for dialogue baffled?
They are bemused because the MoU is not anchored in nor underwritten by any known institutional framework.
Neither does it succinctly capture the nagging issues contained in NASA’s national dialogue agenda for which many have died and others been maimed in the recent past.
It is not possible to gloss over issues of electoral justice by simply accepting to move on, on the basis of a gentleman’s agreement.
Incidentally, one hopes this wasn’t a PR prank to hoodwink Kenyans in anticipation of the visit by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
NASA has called for a structured national dialogue.
Therefore NASA is not opposed to dialogue.
However, an MoU between two people does not constitute an all-inclusive national dialogue. NASA asked for dialogue over the IEBC’s capacity, competency and accountability deficits after the Supreme Court nullified the August 8
Presidential election on irregularities and illegalities.
Thereafter, NASA has been on the road calling upon Jubilee for a sit-down to address issues affecting Kenyans under the compass of electoral justice.
We, the NASA family, remain committed to changing Kenya for the better.
In the aftermath of the MoU, the NASA Summit will do a thorough audit of the deal and undertake soul-searching on whether Kenyans were taken for a ride.
The writer is the ANC leader