- Kenya Kwanza has agreed to conditionally recall Eldas MP Adan Keynan from the bipartisan talks panel.
- In a statement by the Kenya Kwanza co-chair in the 14-member panel, George Murugara, the government side also asked their Azimio counterparts to recuse David Pkosing.
Kenya Kwanza has agreed to conditionally recall Eldas MP Adan Keynan from the bipartisan panel, to salvage the talks from 'imminent collapse'.
In a statement by the Kenya Kwanza co-chair in the 14-member panel, George Murugara, the government side also asked their Azimio counterparts to recuse David Pkosing.
Kenya Kwanza said the decision was arrived at to unlock the impasse on the composition of the committee so that the talks can move to the next level.
"To demonstrate our commitment to the one process of a peaceful bipartisan engagement, we are ready to recuse the hon. Keynan the process if the issue they consider to be in conflict with the hon. Keynan will be part of TOR of the formal process," Murugara said.
The Azimio camp had insisted that the inclusion of Keynan in the talks was a move to sabotage the initiative, arguing that the MP is a member of the Jubilee party which is an affiliate of the coalition.
The talks collapsed after the two teams failed to agree on the composition of the panel.
''Equally, we call on then to show goodwill and if the TOR include an issue that will conflict with the inclusion of the hon.Pkosing, to equally be ready to recuse him,'' the statement added.
The government side asked Azimio to suspend the planned street protests next Tuesday and return to the negotiating table to agree on the next steps in the process.
Kenya Kwanza said the next process of the talks must be through peaceful negotiations at the table and not through the streets.
''I have this afternoon as a co-chair written to my colleague co-chair, hon. Otiende Amollo inviting him and the leadership of the house, both in minority and majority, for a discussion around this proposal to break the impasse at the earliest opportunity available to them,'' Murugara said.
Kenya Kwanza said that because the informal talks are supposed to agree on the terms of reference for the panel before initiating structured negotiations, they would agree to their Keynan request.
''We have further considered their objection to the hon.Keynan on account of only one subject of discussion in the process ' the protection of multiparty democracy and party discipline' and resolved to once more bend backwards to save this process from imminent collapse,'' Muragara said.
Pkosing who was elected on the Kenya Union Party was picked by Azimio as part of the opposition's negotiating team.
However, on Thursday, Kenya Kwanza signed a coalition agreement with KUP led by former West Pokot governor John Lonyangapuo.
This means that KUP is part of the Kenya Kwanza just the way Jubilee is legally in Azimio .