After many days of being begged by religious leaders, bloggers and other Kenyans, the President listened. Hardliners in his camp were openly anti-dialogue in the ongoing IEBC fracas, but on Wednesday he agreed to come up with a team that would talk with Cord and iron out the issues.
From a political perspective, Raila would have wanted this to drag a little longer so he can get as much clout as possible. It would have given him the upper hand in the eventual dialogue.
The president’s announcement came less than 24 hours after his Deputy appeared on TV and ruled out dialogue. So, that was a big surprise to the opposition especially.
When we finally caught our breath knowing the weekly demos were over, Cord rejected the President’s proposal. There was confusion on social media as Cord allied bloggers who had initially celebrated the President’s move calling it a win for Raila, quickly changed tune.
The President and Jubilee had selected the following as their members in the dialogue committee.
- Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria
- Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen
- Nominated Senator Beatrice Elachi
- Meru Senator Kiraitu Murungi
- Nominated Senator Fatuma Dullo
- Runyenjes MP Cecily Mbarire
- Taita Taveta MP Naomi Shaban
- Kitutu Chache North MP Jimmy Angweyi
- Mumias East MP Ben Washiali
- Mandera West MP Mohammed Mahmoud
- Narok woman representative Soipan Tuya
Apparently, Cord did not want such a long list. Also, the presence of Moses Kuria infuriated some people, but it’s worth noting Cord also had Muthama on their 5-man list. Cord also said they were not okay with the way the dialogue committee was structured within parliament.
All in all, for people who have been screaming dialogue at the top of their voices to then reject the same dialogue; it speaks volume. Some have said that Raila’s call for dialogue has little to do with IEBC and more with constitutional changes. There was talk of a parliamentary system recently.
Do you think Raila is genuine in his call for dialogue.
