Kenya: Sifuna, Ole Kina Main Obstacles in Bi-Partisan Talks, Khalwale Says
Nairobi — Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has alleged that Edwin Sifuna and Ledama Olekina are the main obstacles to the bipartisan negotiations.
Speaking to Citizen Television on Thursday morning, Khalwale said that the Kenya Kwanza team is fully committed to the talks but is facing challenges as Azimio La Umoja teams have not been cooperating.
“They don’t want to look in the eyes of our co-chair, Olekina and Sifuna are the biggest problems in the meeting, they have never participated in talks like these. The young people stand up and say they want to declare the end of talks before making any contribution,” he said.
Khalwale added that Kenyans must be aware of the degree of dishonesty present in the conversations between the two parties.
He continued by saying that the ongoing Jubilee leadership disputes, were a factor in the decision to halt the negotiations, but they were not the primary driver.
“We are not talking today, because the Azimio team has called off the talks, who said we were supposed to agree? They have refused to allow points of disagreements to be articulated,” Khalwale added.
“We did not go to the talks over Jubilee issues, the issues put on the table do not mention Jubilee.”
Azimio suspended the talks for the second time on May 23, citing various issues.
The talks were suspended for seven days Tuesday after MPs from the ruling Kenya Kwanza and Azimio coalitions failed to agree on contentious issues.
The talks spearheaded by Parliament bring together legislators from Odinga’s Azimio La Umoja One Kenya coalition and Ruto’s ruling coalition Kenya Kwanza.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
They were initiated by the president in April to cool off political temperatures in the country after weeks of street demonstrations called by Odinga to protest the high cost of living and his alleged stolen presidential victory.
“Our colleagues have refused to concede to any of the interim measures we raised which has led us to the conclusion that they are not negotiating in good faith,” said Otiende Amollo, the bipartisan co-chair, adding that the talks “will not get anywhere should the status quo remain the same.”
And while Kenya Kwanza MPs accuse their counterparts of being dishonest in the talks, the Opposition feels the same.
According to Kenya Kwanza, the main issue of contention is the formation of a new electoral commission that will manage the 2027 elections.
“The Kenya Kwanza has singled out the issue on IEBC, indicating that to them that is the most critical bit of the issues brought by Azimio. We have agreed that the issue on IEBC is what must take precedence from today,” said Kenya Kwanza committee co-chair George Murugara adding that they expect the talks to resume to their logical conclusion.
Other sources in the talks told Capital FM News that the talks were suspended over the Kenya Kwanza’s meddling in Jubilee party affairs.
Jubilee is part of the Azimio coalition and has lately accused President William Ruto of raiding it and taking away members who were not elected in Kenya Kwanza.
