Tough-talking Kenya Kwanza stalwarts have sparked off unease in opposition circles as to whether the much-anticipated bipartisan dialogue will take off.
Apprehensive political observers believe the mixed signals from President William Ruto’s party henchmen might set the talks off to a rocky start.
The grandstanding continues days after both teams agreed in principle to a ceasefire that followed four days of protests that hurt the economy.
But even as the opposition representatives express misgivings, a large body of interest groups and human rights lobby groups have mounted a highly strident campaign to push their way into the talks.
Already there is suspicion between the camps, with Kenya Kwanza pointing out that the proposed format of the 2008 National Accord was a recipe for another handshake.
With the reservations being expressed by the government side, Azimio feels played and has threatened to stage a fresh wave of protests across the country.
President Ruto on Thursday maintained that the talks will only involve lawmakers, rebuffing the threat by Azimio to resume protests should their demands fail to be heeded.
“If talks will not be held in Parliament, then they should wait for election in 2027 for them to be elected into government. I am not a coward and will not hold any talks outside the law,” the President said.
But Raila says the talks should birth “a proper review of the Constitution to cure the governance defects in the 2010 Constitution.
“We will be putting this matter on the table in our dialogue with Kenya Kwanza,” the former Prime Minister said on Thursday.
On the external forces, there are quarters which believe that the bipartisan talks in Parliament may not accommodate some of the demands Azimio added to its list.
Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua, a key member of Azimio, was among top honchos that expressed pessimism with the House route.
“We cannot leave the process of reconstituting the IEBC to a Parliament that is controlled by the Executive with speakers who have openly taken sides,” Karua said.
The Narc Kenya leader, who was Raila’s running mate, said the process must be driven from outside for it to be successful.
Internal grumbles after Azimio named seven to engage President Ruto’s side at the negotiating table are also a concern.
MPs Ledama Olekina (Narok), Edwin Sifuna (Nairobi), Enoch Wambua (Kitui), David Pkosing (Pokot South), Otiende Amollo (Rarieda), Millie Odhiambo (Suba North), and Amina Mnyazi (Malindi) were selected to the team.
But Embakasi East MP Babu Owino lamented the lack of representation of the youth at the negotiating table.
“A team has been set up to represent Azimio in the bipartisan talks. I wish them well. However, it would have been more efficient if a youth was part of the team,” he said.
Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai also complained about lack of representation of county assemblies in the Parliament-led process.
That aside, the talks have been threatened by the perception that the Raila side is keen on a handshake with Ruto akin to his truce with former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Raila has denied the assertions, saying he was not keen on joining the Ruto government.
But UDA secretary general Cleophas Malala held that they believe the ODM leader is not approaching the negotiation table with a clean heart.
He cited the threats of fresh protests as a sign that the Azimio side was not coming into equity with a genuine agenda.
“Your maandamano [protests] threats will not arm-twist the government to give in to your conniving habit of sneaking into power through the backdoor,” he said.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro also quipped that the opposition team should kick off their demos immediately if not ready for talks.
Among signs of what could break the camel’s back, Azimio says such sentiments by their rivals reveal they are not ready to give room for dialogue.
Pokot South MP David Pkosing, who is part of Azimio’s seven-member panel, said they were concerned about the utterances.
The MP, a student of peace and conflict resolution and practitioner of nine years, told the Star that parties must adhere to the calls for a ceasefire.
“We need more than just a ceasefire. Parties in a conflict must not send mixed signals. This would show that one is not committed to the cause,” Pkosing said.
The PIC chairman said those around the President need to allow the head of state achieve his goal –which is to unite the country.
“The country will achieve greater peace if the bad talkers, who are mainly in Kenya Kwanza, allowed the President to achieve his goal,” Pkosing said.
His arguments were supported by former Education PS James ole Kiyiapi who argued that “leaders can negotiate or refuse to, without insults or throwing mud at their opponents.”
He stated that the cordial approach was the philosophical underpinning of the 2010 Constitution – that is to push leadership to a higher level.
“Unfortunately, we can’t legislate character. Same bad manners are the order of the day,” the ex-PS observed.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, a fierce Ruto defender, however, held a different opinion, saying the President has proven more than enough that he was ready for dialogue.
He cited the move by the government to drop charges against MPs and protesters who were apprehended over the March 20 demos.
“The six MPs and over 400 protesters were facing serious charges of destruction of property, and maiming, but the charges were withdrawn. Isn’t that enough goodwill?” the senator asked.
Cherargei defended the parliamentary route as the best saying it has the most suitable provisions for structured talks.
“Parliament is the best place to engage in structured talks since MPs are people’s representatives,” he said.
The senator added that with Parliament leading the process, it would be easy to deal with the product that will come out of the negotiations.
“Power is exercised on behalf of the people. On the role of the church and other sectoral interests, we will invoke the article of the Constitution which provides for public participation.”
Cherargei said that under the arrangement, the clergy, MCAs, government, opposition and all sector players would be invited before Parliament to present their memoranda as has been the case with other legislative processes.
“We will invite the groups to appear before the team to present their submissions. From this, we will come up with an acceptable document,” the senator explained.
This was even as he held that some of the demands by Raila, like the reinstatement of the IEBC four, were not realistic and that others like reducing the cost of living were already taken care of by policy.
Raila and his handshake brother Uhuru had challenges with introducing BBI before MPs, missteps which saw the process collapse after the court ruled it was unconstitutional.