PNU and ODM law talks hit deadlock

• Contentious issues will now be thrashed out at consensus retreat

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Thursday evening failed to agree on key contentious issues in the draft constitution after a four-hour meeting of the grand coalition management committee.

They shifted the search for a compromise to the Parliamentary Select Committee retreat set for Sunday.

Mr Odinga, however, said that substantial progress on some of the major sticky issues had been made “but finer details will be sorted out by the PSC” at the Naivasha retreat.

Hardline stance

President Kibaki and Mr Odinga jointly chaired a four-hour coalition management committee meeting aimed at seeking consensus before the draft law goes to referendum, but sources told the Nation not much was agreed on due to hardline stance by some members.

ODM and PNU are sharply divided on how the country should be ruled.

Mr Odinga’s ODM wants a Parliamentary system, with the Prime Minister wielding executive power as proposed in the draft put forward by the Committee of Experts, while President Kibaki’s PNU wants executive power retained by the president.

On Thursday, the divisions forced the management committee, which is supposed to address issues affecting the coalition and resolve differences to leave it to the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution led by Mr Abdikadir Mohammed.

Negotiations

“The two sides of the coalition have agreed that all the contentious issues should be resolved through negotiations in the Parliamentary Select Committee session in Naivasha,” Mr Odinga said.

Sources at the meeting said Mr Odinga and the President asked the members to put the country first in discussing the contentious issues, adding, they expected nothing short of consensus in the Parliamentary Select Committee when their members go to Naivasha retreat.

However, the two sides are said to have stuck to their positions during the talks.

Mr Odinga, who read the resolution to journalists after the meeting in the company of President Kibaki, however, assured Kenyans that they are committed and optimistic that the constitution review process will be finalised “in due course for the benefit of all Kenyans.”

“The two principals have mandated their respective teams to ensure that the negotiations are conclusive because Kenyans have waited for a new constitution for a long time,” Mr Odinga said.

The 27-member Parliamentary Select Committee, which comprises 14 MPs from PNU and 13 from ODM starts a one-week retreat in Naivasha on Sunday to try and reach consensus on the  contentious issues to facilitate easy passage of the constitution in referendum.

Mr Abdikadir has warned that if the leaders do not agree, the referendum could be divisive and spark chaos.

Among those who attended Thursday’s meeting at Harambee House were deputy prime ministers Uhuru Kenyatta and Musalia Mudavadi, Cabinet ministers Mutula Kilonzo, Beth Mugo, Charity Ngilu, James Orengo, Yusuf Haji, Moses Wetang’ula and Mohamed Elmi.

Others were Chirau Mwakwere, assistant minister William Cheptumo,  the management committee joint secretaries Kivutha Kibwana and Miguna Miguna and Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura and permanent secretary Mohamed Isahakia (Office of the Prime Minister).