Kenya Election Watch: Weekly Updates

Week of June 16 – 20, 2002

Summary: Welcome to the first edition of Kenya Election Watch’s Weekly Updates! In this section, we provide our readers with summaries of news stories covering the election, constitutional reform, and related issues culled from Kenya’s two major daily newspapers: The Daily Nation; and The East African Standard. Each month, we pick out the major events from these weekly updates and post them on the main Kenya Election Watch page, along with one or two analysis pieces. The “week” period normally covers Fridays to Thursdays (this first update is exceptional in that part of last week was covered in our monthly round-up). We also provide a brief summary of the major trend or event of the week. For more information or comments, contact Kenya Election Watch editor Cathy Majtenyi at: cathymaj@hotmail.com

Undoubtedly, the shocker this week is a private meeting – chaired by President Daniel arap Moi – of KANU MPs at which they tabled a proposal to extend Parliament for four months, until May 15, effectively extending Moi’s term for four months. In protest, 11 opposition MPs resigned from the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional Review, chaired by Raila Odinga. They also demanded that the KANU MPs withdraw their proposal to extend Parliament and threatened mass action if this didn’t happen. This latest drama flies in the face of almost unanimous consent from the opposition and ordinary Kenyans alike – and even public, high-profile promises made by President Moi himself – that elections be held by the time the current Parliament concludes, with no extensions to Parliament. Observers are saying that this is KANU’s and President Moi’s attempt to hang onto power for as long as they can.

Acronyms

All throughout the chronology and updates are sprinkled acronyms referring to various committees, commissions, political movements, etc. Here, we spell out these acronyms and provide some brief background information.

CKRC = Constitution of Kenya Review Commission. Chaired by Prof. Yash Pal Ghai, the 27-member group collects the views of a wide cross-section of Kenyan groups and individuals. The commission is supposed to present Kenyans with a new constitution on October 4.

PSCCR = Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional Review. Chaired by Raila Odinga, Minister of Energy, the committee monitors the work of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC).

KANU = Kenya African National Union, the party that has ruled Kenya since independence. Daniel arap Moi is the president of Kenya.

NAC = National Alliance for Change. This is a grouping of the Democratic Party, FORD-Kenya, National Party of Kenya (NPK), FORD-Asili, the unregistered Saba Saba Asili, SPARK, and several advocacy groups. The group is striving to field one presidential candidate.

KPC = Kenya People's Coalition. This is a grouping of FORD-People, Safina, the Labour Party of Kenya, and the National Convention Executive Council (NCEC).

MPs = Members of Parliament. Currently, the House contains a total of 222 MPs.

Events

Sunday Nation, June 16 – Police in riot gear break up a National Convention Executive Council meeting held in Nyandarua District June 15 to collect people’s views on constitutional reform. Led by the area police chief, Masai Kyeleve, officers order participants to open the door of the hall, then force their way into the hall. Kyeleye orders the NCEC's Central Province co-ordinator, Mr Ndungu Wainaina, who had organised the seminar, to leave town. Police say the NCEC meeting would interfere with a teachers’ workshop being held in the same area. Wainaina, complying with the police chief’s orders, moves to St Peter's Anglican Church of Kenya, where again police disrupt the meeting. This time, they say that the group had not obtained a licence to hold their meeting there. A similar incident occurred a few days ago in Keiyo District, where police dispersed an NCEC meeting, citing insecurity in the area.

Sunday Standard, June 16 - CKRC Secretary Patrick Lumumba says an election held under the current constitution will not solve Kenya’s problems, primarily because the current constitution lacks strong structures that can ensure good governance and prevent corruption. He says that Kenyans’ involvement in the constitutional review process right from the beginning will ensure that the public owns the final document.

Sunday Nation, June 16 - President Moi says that members of the KANU party who are fighting over the party’s earlier merger with the then National Development Party (NDP), headed by Raila Odinga, must stop or quit KANU. He says that the merger reflect the wishes of the public. He also warns that the electorate will also reject members who reject KANU and move to opposition parties during the next General Election. President Moi’s warning comes in the wake of an avalanche of complaints by several KANU branch officials in Nyanza province, who took issue with the KANU-NDP merger, claiming that the sitting MPs had manipulated the process. President Moi is KANU chairman and Raila Odinga is secretary-general.

Sunday Standard, June 16 - Local Government Minister Uhuru Kenyatta urges Kenyans to rally behind leaders who are out to promote national unity, saying that a few individuals who one time served the government are now preaching divisive politics. Uhuru tells people attending a fundraiser to rally behind President Moi who, since he took power, has promoted national unity and mutual understanding among all Kenyans, according to Kenyatta.

Sunday Nation, June 16 - Ngengi Muigai, former MP for Gatundu and Secretary-General of the unregistered Saba Saba Asili political party, says he will support Uhuru Kenyatta's bid for presidency only if the decision to do so was Kenyatta's and not because he was being pressured to do so by outsiders. "I fear for Uhuru because those pushing him to go for the position may be doing so only to serve their own interests,” Muigai, who is Kenyatta's cousin, told Sunday Nation in an interview. A number of mainly Rift Valley politicians – including Cabinet Minister Henry Kosgey – have been touting Kenyatta as their preferred KANU nominee for the presidency when President Moi's term expires, according to Sunday Nation’s article. Kenyatta is the son of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first president from independence in 1963 to his death in 1978, after which Moi stepped in as president.

Sunday Nation, June 16 - Democratic Party of Kenya leader Mwai Kibaki, returning home from an overseas trip, declares that he is very much in the presidential race. Kibaki, 71, who vied for the presidency in 1992 and 1997, says age is not a deterrent to leadership and those thinking so are wrong. He is responding to a call made earlier by Gem (Ford-Kenya) MP Joe Donde, who challenged Kibaki to give up his presidential bid for a younger person within NAC. Both Donde and Kibaki are members of NAC.

Sunday Standard, June 16 - Abubakar Mahmoud Yusuf, the Mombasa-based secretary-general of the political party Shirikisho Party of Kenya (SPK), says NAC meetings are a “waste of time” because they should be used to consolidate opposition parties instead of being turned into a struggle for power. Yusuf says his party is considering nominating its chairman and former Wundanyi MP Mashengu wa Mwachofi to run for the presidency. Yusuf claims that NAC had marginalised some opposition parties and regions – including Coast Province – in the country. The SPK boss says the silence by opposition leaders on Tiomin’s controversial titanium mining project in Kwale was causing concern among Coast people. SPK is set to call its special delegates meeting on June 29 to start nominating civic and Parliamentary candidates.

Nation, June 17 – The PSCCR proposes that the referendum period – which, according to the Constitution of Kenya Review Act should be held within two months of the National Constitutional Conference – be held within a month. A national referendum on the constitution is part of the constitutional review process outlined under the CKRC Act. The referendum, if needed, is supposed to determine, through popular vote, issues or questions that the National Constitutional Conference was unable to resolve. Participants at the conference – to be comprised of the House’s elected and nominated MPs, MPs, the president, attorney general, speaker, representatives from 73 districts, representatives of all political parties and other bodies – will debate and eventually adopt the CKRC’s draft constitution. PSCCR’s other proposals include: allowing CKRC chair Prof. Yash Pal Ghai to discipline errant commissioners as he sees fit; and reducing the time periods for publishing and presenting the draft constitution.

Standard, June 17 - Assistant Minister William Ruto says it is impossible to hold the general election this year under a new constitution, calling such a goal an “illusion” on the opposition’s part. Ruto, who is an Assistant Minister in the Office of the President and KANU’s Director of Elections, says it is absolutely not possible to hold the elections under a new constitution and challenged opposition figures to stop inciting the public over the issue. “Much as the ruling party is set and ready for the elections, it is not workable to hold the elections this year under a new Constitution,” Ruto said at a fundraising function. “It is quite misleading to the public to say that we can achieve this even when the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission has informed us it cannot make a comprehensive document by the end of the year,” Ruto was quoted as saying.

Standard, June 17 - The Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya (ICPSK) opposes plans to increase by 90 the number of Parliamentary constituencies, saying the economy cannot fund the exercise. ICPSK vice-chairman, Charles Wachira, and Joshua Wambua, CEO, say the government can barely finance critical projects such as the rehabilitation of roads due to budgetary constraints. This would make the creation of 90 more seats “a luxury.” They say Kenyans are eagerly awaiting results of the on-going constitutional review process, which is likely to consume billions of shillings from the Exchequer. The coming general election is expected to cost more than Sh4 billion [US$52 million], they say.

Standard, June 17 – Opposition parties vow to seek funding from the international community to pressure the government into initiating several reforms before the election is held. Cherangany MP Kipruto Kirwa says the parties will agitate for reforms that will create “a level playing ground” for all politicians. Some of thee reforms include: liberating airwaves so that media outlets can operate all across Kenya; ensuring that KTN, Nation TV, Citizen TV and other media outlets cover political events before, during, and after the election in a comprehensive and impartial way; and having the government guarantee that police and the provincial administration be impartial in dealing with election violence. “We don’t want a repeat of past elections where the provincial administration and the police have been used to harass opposition leaders,” Kirwa was quoted as saying.

Nation, June 17 – Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri says incidents of crime in Laikipia District are on the rise and are linked to the upcoming general election. He points to attacks against several politicians – including Solomon Kiguru, chairman of Rumuruti County Council – as evidence of this.

Standard, June 17 – The Democratic Party of Kenya (DP) will not field a candidate in Ford Kenya chairman Michael Wamalwa’s Sabaot constituency in the forthcoming general election, announces the DP branch in Trans Nzoia. Branch chairman George Muchori Kamau said the move is meant to foster NAC’s spirit of unity. DP Sabaot aspirant Jackson Ruiru has agreed to step down to counter KANU’s influence in the area. Ruiru stood against Wamalwa in the last general election and came third behind KANU’s Justine Sitii. Kamau, however, said DP had requested that the Kitale mayoral seat currently held by Ford-Kenya be preserved for DP in the same spirit of co-operation of opposition parties.

Standard, June 17 - Cabinet Minister Kalonzo Musyoka criticises the opposition for seeking foreign funding, claiming that they are trying to destabilise the government. He questions why Mwai Kibaki, Leader of the Opposition, is asking international organisations to support NAC by providing training for agents, civic education and other efforts to ensure a peaceful transition to a new government. Kibaki was recently in the United States where he attended the international democrat leaders conference.

Standard, June 17 – Ugenya MP and Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader James Orengo calls for the creation of a “second republic” to give room for a new political order in the country after the election. He says that any leader previously connected with the KANU regime, including leadership in the police, judiciary, or armed forces, cannot be trusted to bring about the change required by Kenyans. “Anything to do with the old regime must go because the current rot and mess in the country is perpetuated by the system,” says the fiery legislator. The only way to restore the donor community’s confidence in the country was to have a complete change through the second republic, Orengo said at a funeral over the weekend.

Standard, June 17 – Writer Biketi Kikechi summarises what the people of Kenya’s North Eastern Province have been telling a number of CKRC hearings across the province. Essentially, the people of North Eastern say they want the constitution to prevent them from being further politically, economically, and socially marginalised. They demand a constitutional “Marshal Plan or Economic Majimbo” to develop the area. Recommendations included: binding the government by law to provide markets for the pastoralists’ meat products and to set up factories and other operations specialising in livestock production; returning Garisa town, and all areas of the Tana basin, to the Orma and Pokomo of Coast Province; enabling the Somali community to have access to water; requiring that the winning presidential candidate receive at least 25 per cent of the total votes cast in every province; self-government for Somali communities; and imposing Sharia laws in Muslim areas.

Nation, June 18 - Minister of State Joseph Nyaga announced that he would be running for president in the next general election. Nyaga, says he sees himself as a compromise candidate between the KANU Old Guard and Young Turks. The 54-year-old MP for Gachoka says he is confident that KANU would nominate him as its flag bearer since he had the "best credentials" among his Cabinet colleagues. KANU secretary-general Raila Odinga had also previously declared an interest in the presidency and a group of Young Turks have set up a campaign backing Minister of Local Government Uhuru Kenyatta as President Moi's successor.

Standard, June 18 - Tourism and Information Minister Kalonzo Musyoka says President Moi should remain in power until the new constitution is completed. “President Moi has to give assent to the new constitution in order to avoid a crisis,” he says. Musyoka, who is also member of the PSCCR, said this was the only way to avoid constitutional fraud and avert crisis.

Nation, June 18 - Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon says he plans to discuss with Kenyan authorities the general election and the controversial Media Bill when he visits Kenya on June 19. He told The Daily Nation that there had been "predictable unease" at proposals to prolong Parliament's life to bring in a new constitution, as "people see it merely as a means of extending the life of the government.” However, he insisted that he was not coming to Kenya "to beat people over the head over the issue" but to listen. He added that the Commonwealth's view was that any postponement of the election would "not be a good thing. The secretary-general also intends to speak with key Opposition leaders during his stay in Nairobi "to get as broad a view as possible.”

Standard, June 18 – KANU announces plans to officially launch its campaign for the next general election, Kenya’s ninth since independence, on June 29 at a function to be presided over by President Moi. The party says it will also use the same occasion to unveil its new vision for the country. KANU secretary-general Raila Odinga said the June 29 event will be the highlight of two-day celebrations of the KANU/NDP merger consummated at the March 18 National Delegates Conference at Kasarani.

Nation, June 18 - KANU secretary general Raila Odinga says the ruling party is not behind a campaign against the presidential candidature of Democratic Party leader Mwai Kibaki. In recent weeks, Gem MP Joe Donde declared that the 71-year-old Kibaki was unfit to run for president because he is “too old.” "Although as a party we may not share in Mr Donde's personal remarks against Mr. Kibaki, we challenge Opposition parties to cultivate internal democracy where a member is not subjected to censorship for giving an opinion,'' Odinga was quoted as saying.

Standard, June 18 - Minister Julius Sunkuli says DP leader Mwai Kibaki has no new ideas to offer Kenyans as president. He says Kibaki, after having served in senior positions in the Kenyatta and Moi governments for a period spanning three decades, has outlived his usefulness and should not offer his candidature for presidency.

Nation, June 19 – Eleven opposition MPs who are members of the PSCCR resign after they discover that KANU MPs tabled, at a private meeting chaired by President Moi, a proposal to extend the life of Parliament by four months until May 15 so that the CKRC could complete its work. This move automatically extends President Moi’s term by that amount. “Kenyans have already loudly rejected any extension of the term of Parliament or the tenure of President Moi for even an extra day,” Ford-Kenya chairman Michael Wamalwa told The Daily Nation. Speaking on behalf of NAC, Wamalwa says that KANU should not “underestimate the capacity of Kenyans to make the country ungovernable.” When the 11 MPs – 10 of who are allied to NAC – heard of the proposal, they vow to vote down the measure in Parliament and threaten to mobilise Kenyans into mass action. NAC firmly states that the general election should be held on December 29. President Moi’s term legally ends on January 4, 2003.

Nation, June 19 – Edward Lopokoyit, a former commissioner of prisons, says the Electoral Commission of Kenya needs Sh10 billion [US$130 million] to run its activities properly and an additional Sh5.4 billion [US$70 million] “to ensure the country got the best government after the elections.” He also says votes this time around will be counted at polling stations. The projections of Lopokoyit, who addressed a media workshop, varied with those of ECK chairman Samuel Kivuitu, who said the electoral commission needed Sh5 billion.

Nation, June 20 – MPs opposed to a proposal to extend the life of Parliament – and, hence, President Moi’s term – collect signatures from their colleagues in an attempt to vote the proposal down. Religious leaders ask Kenyans to resist the proposal by KANU MPs to extend the life of Parliament, and a spokesperson for the United States Embassy says that the U.S. would prefer to see a general election before Parliament’s current term expires next February. Observers say the move is a ploy by KANU to win itself time in office without having to go to the polls.

Standard, June 20 – Parliament breaks out into a huge uproar following the disclosure that the Kenya government has donated the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) to the ruling party KANU. The KICC is a landmark of Nairobi’s skyline and is a high-profile site that is popular for holding national and international meetings and conferences.

ENDS