Huge divisions remain despite mega deal

Mr Mwai Kibaki (left) and Mr Raila Odinga sign the National Accord on the steps of the Office of The President in Nairobi in 2008. On the left is then Attorney-General (AG) Amos Wako and on the right is then shadow AG James Orengo. Behind are witnesses, from left, then Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete, mediator Kofi Annan and and mediator Benjamin Mkapa. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • A decade after the end of Kenya’s darkest moment, scars from the Post-Election Violence remain as have new challenges sprouted that are continually threatening the country’s social fabric.

  • The land issue which was also at the centre of the Moi era clashes, has never been fully tackled. Instead, it has been dealt with selectively. 

  • Triggered by the disputed December 2007 presidential election, the post-election violence had driven Kenya to the edge as neighbours turned against each other during the wave of ethnic violence that swept across the country.

Thee signing of the National Accord this week 10 years ago came as a relief to millions of Kenyans who had endured almost two months of bloodletting and destruction of property.

Triggered by the disputed December 2007 presidential election, the post-election violence had driven Kenya to the edge as neighbours turned against each other during the wave of ethnic violence that swept across the country.

Following weeks of talks between the protagonists in PNU and ODM, and mediated by African Union’s Panel of Eminent African Personalities led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, a deal was finally struck and signed between Mr Mwai Kibaki (PNU) and Mr Raila Odinga (ODM). Mr Annan was leading the African Union’s Panel of Eminent African Personalities that also included former Tanzania President Benjamin Mkapa and former South African First Lady Graca Machel.

The National Dialogue and Reconciliation Agreement (National Accord) was signed in Nairobi on February 28, 2008, and had four main points: Agenda Number One which called for immediate action to stop violence and restore fundamental rights and liberties and Agenda Number Two on immediate measures to address the humanitarian crisis, promote reconciliation, healing and restoration.

POLITICAL CRISIS

Agenda Number Three was on how to overcome the then political crisis while Agenda Number Four was to address the underlying causes of the darkest period in Kenya’s independence history. These long-term solutions included constitutional, institutional and legal reforms, land reforms, poverty and inequity, unemployment, particularly among the youth, consolidating national cohesion and unity and transparency, accountability and addressing impunity. Significantly, it gave rise to the Grand Coalition Government — a political marriage of convenience with Mr Kibaki as President and Mr Odinga Prime Minister.

A decade after the end of Kenya’s darkest moment, scars from the Post-Election Violence remain as have new challenges sprouted that are continually threatening the country’s social fabric.

Of significance, the day will be marked in the middle of deep ethnic and political divisions after the 2017 General Election, erosion of public trust in key institutions.

Neither Mr Kibaki, who retired in 2013, nor Mr Odinga, responded immediately to our requests for an interview.

Reflecting on the signing of the National Accord a decade later, former cabinet minister Martha Karua, who was one of the representatives of PNU in the talks that resulted in the Accord, says that while the implementation of the agreement succeeded in the political agenda, politicians gave the people a raw deal.

HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

“On the easing of the humanitarian crisis, especially the internally displaced persons, we have done very badly because 10 years later there are still issues arising from that and you will remember that some of the settlements were done at the end of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s first term, meaning we took 10 years. That is not very good. It was not done very well and in certain cases some people who posed as IDPs were settled while the main IDPs, especially the integrated ones, have never seen any support whatsoever,” said Ms Karua.

She added: “It is a shame that issues that are touching on the people such as tackling poverty, jobs for the youths, tackling corruption and impunity have been forgotten. If anything, corruption and impunity have now been reloaded. You can see the impunity of even insulting the courts of law, not just verbally but in written forms.”

According to her, it is time for the political leadership to own up and recommit themselves to implementing the Accord, as well as the recommendations of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) in full.

“There is a semblance of peace because politicians at the top level united but that did not necessarily translate into peace everywhere because when there were those cases going on (at the International Criminal Court) we heard of witnesses disappearing and that kind of thing. We must agree that as politicians we did very badly in fulfilling the peoples’ agenda. We didn’t do well as we did for ourselves,” the former minister said.

LAND ISSUE

Moreover, the land issue which was also at the centre of the Moi era clashes, has never been fully tackled. Instead, it has been dealt with selectively. 

“We know that there are people who have never recovered their lands even when known perpetrators had taken their lands. I can see now the President (Uhuru Kenyatta) has called for the recovery of National Youth Service (NYS) land. But is NYS land the only issue? Hadn’t we better deal with all the issues raised in the TJRC report so that we don’t appear to be only targeting a few individuals? We need to say we have undone work and also say ‘TJRC now’, and that ought to be the legacy of President Kenyatta,” said Ms Karua.

The coalition government that was the immediate political product of the Serena Hotel talks between PNU and ODM did its part in implementing the National Accord, Nasa principal Musalia Mudavadi, then the ODM leader to the negotiations, says.

According to him, it is the successor regime that has gone completely off tangent and no longer cares about the agreement. “The coalition government did a good job by giving the country a new Constitution. At least it did not forget its mandate. Despite a furious anti-people agenda from vested interests, we managed to embed long-term issues of Agenda 4 within the new Constitution. The onus of carrying forward the momentum fell on the first government under the new Constitution,” says Mr Mudavadi.

JUBILEE ADMINISTRATION

However, he says, the Jubilee administration has done very little to take forward those gains of the coalition government.

“The blame should go to the coalition government’s successor, the Jubilee government, which not only had many elements who worked to wreck the Accord but also opposed the Constitution. It is not surprising that once in power, in 2013, Jubilee abandoned Agenda 4. In its place came the era of policies that are as unpredictable as they are unsustainable. Even Vision 2030 was abandoned and is only occasionally mentioned out of embarrassment,” said Mr Mudavadi through his communication aide Kibisu Kabatesi.

The former deputy prime minister in the coalition government that followed the chaos says the Jubilee regime’s food security policies have failed, while corruption, ethnicity and a bulging national debt have prominently taken over.

“The implementation instrument has been in the wrong hands. You have seen them frustrate and embark on cannibalising the Constitution by clawing back the gains. The underlying causes identified and given prominence in the Constitution have been discarded. We are back to the pre-Accord contestation because the duo wants to abrogate the Constitution. Fact is, as long as the duo fights the Constitution, no meaningful amity will be found in Kenya.

POST ELECTION VIOLENCE

They have planted the mustard seed and are postponing an eventuality which will be rougher than the 20007/8 post-election violence,” said Mr Mudavadi.

Lawyer Gitobu Imanyara  says the country has yet to heal. If anything, he says the country looks worse than it was 10 years ago in so far as national reconciliation is concerned.

“We are going backwards in terms of national healing and the country is now more divided in terms of ethnic polarisation than it was when the post-election violence broke out because the government has made no effort at inclusive policies in terms of employment in public service. Employment in the public service continues to reflect a heavy bias towards the two main ethnic groups that are in government. This seriously undermines the National Accord and especially the motivation that led to the formation of Kaparo Commission (NCIC),” he said.

According to the lawyer, the 2017 election was a clear sign that all is not well in the country. Other than land and national healing there is the issue of full implementation of the Constitution, which according to Mr Imanyara seems to have been forgotten as political bickering takes centre stage.