Kibaki and Raila to end law review impasse

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga will meet MPs on Tuesday to help broker a deal over the draft constitution.

National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende told MPs meeting at the Kenya Institute of Administration on Thursday that the two principals would attend a kamukunji (meeting) at Parliament where legislators would be expected to make the final decision on how to handle the contentious issues.

On Thursday evening, 23 MPs – seven each from PNU and ODM, and lawmakers reform caucus – was formed to work on contentious issues identified in the draft. Parliamentary Select Committee on law review chairman Abdikadir Mohammed and deputy Ababu Namwamba will be ex-officio members.

Mr Marende proposed the formation of the team after MPs spent the whole day identifying contentious issues. The Speaker was hopeful that full consensus will be arrived at on Monday. They have thus extended the retreat by an extra day.

The group was expected to work late into the night and present their report on Friday morning for debate in the plenary with the MPs. The workshop that was initially planned to end on Friday will see consultations extended to Tuesday.

Earlier, party positions took a back-seat as MPs formed regional blocs to lobby for inclusion of their interests in the draft. The push for federalism was spearheaded by Coast, Rift Valley, Western and Nyanza MPs who argued that it was the only equitable way of distributing resources.

Central Kenya and Eastern MPs were said to oppose the proposal saying federalism would lead to the scrapping of counties. Coast MPs on Wednesday night held a lengthy meeting at a Nairobi hotel to discuss devolution and some controversial transition clauses.

The Coast Parliamentary Group said the new constitution would only be acceptable in the region if it provided for the federal system. The move appeared to have given ODM a new strategy which saw the party announce that it now wanted a three-tier system of devolution.

But at KIA, the push for a two-tier government took centre stage with some MPs divided on the fate of counties. On Thursday, the MPs spent the day identifying contentious issues by going through clause by clause.

Other issues that were identified were clauses on recall of non-performing MPs, the kadhi’s courts, and the clause on independent candidates in presidential and parliamentary elections.

PNU chief whip George Thuo is said to have argued that the National Accord should not be recognised in the new Constitution. He was speaking in reference to the clause that requires the President and the PM to consult over appointments. Assistant ministers Orwa Ojode and Margaret Wanjiru of ODM raised the recall clause and the kadhi’s courts respectively.

MPs Fred Kapondi and Wilfred Machage want counties in Mt Elgon and Kuria. Their argument is that if the proposed counties are drawn, their people will be marginalised. The MPs were said to be determined to ensure that Parliament is not dissolved in the event that they fail to enact some of the laws in the given time as indicated in the draft.

Also it was proposed that the word abortion be deleted in the draft and replaced with termination. At the Kenya International Conference Centre, President Kibaki appealed to the media to support the review process. “I’m fully aware that one of the recurring stories that you have covered is our 20-year search for a new constitution,” said the President. “I appeal to you to support this development,” he told the Pan Africa Media Conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the Nation Media Group.

Women lobbies also urged MPs to reach a consensus. Federation of Women Lawyers of Kenya boss Grace Maingi said: “We’ve waited for too long and it is time we concluded this process.”

Reports by Njeri Rugene, Oliver Mathenge, Alphonce Shiundu and Sammy Cheboi