You Missed This

• Kibaki Meets Annan

  Posted: February 27, 2008, 6:59 pm by luke

  The following takes place in private at Harambee House between 10 am and 11 am one day after ODM called off its planned national countrywide rallies to protest the stalled political negotiations being held to resolve the disputed December general post election crisis

  Annan & Mkapa: (rising politely) Good morning your Excellency….

  Mkapa: (smiling, bowing slightly with outstretched hand) Shikamoo Rais Kibaki

  Kibaki: (enters the room smiling) …gentlemen, sit please….Sijambo Benjamin, keti tafadhali

  Annan: (sitting down) thank you sir, and thank you for agreeing to meet us so early this morning

  Kibaki : thank you for the work you are doing and the support you have provided so far towards addressing the political situation in Kenya

  Annan: (leaning slightly forward, speaking softly) well your excellency, that is why we are here this morning. Both negotiation teams have made almost no progress towards reaching an agreement on governance, despite the fact that they had the entire weekend to consult on their positions

  Mkapa :(nodding) ndio Rais, daktari anasema ukweli

  Kibaki: (turning round to face both men) a lot of progress has been made in the mediation talks and I am hopeful that a sustainable solution to this political challenge will be achieved

  Annan: yes sir that is why I decided to directly engage both you and Honourable Raila Odinga personally to ensure that the talks reach a successful conclusion

  Kibaki: (sounding curious) have you spoken to my friend Raila yet?

  Annan: yes sir, and I was able to effectively persuade the Honourable member of your parliament to not go ahead with his earlier planned action intended for tomorrow….

  Kibaki: (brightening) very good! That is why I commended you earlier my friend Ann. …..

  Annan: (gently interrupting) sir, I only managed to appeal to him to postpone the planned mass action rallies until further notice….

  Kibaki: (visibly taken back) postpone?

  Annan: yes sir. Sir, the negotiations were at a critical stage when they stalled, and it is now urgently imperative upon both Honourable Raila and your excellency to reach a solution to the crisis at the negotiation table and not through planned street actions

  Kibaki: (wearily sitting down, sighing)

  Annan: Sir, as you are aware, I had set a deadline of 48-72 hours for both your party and that of Honourable Raila to agree on short term solutions to the crisis

  Kibaki (nodding silently)

  Annan: (continuing) the slow pace of our negotiations is due to disagreements between your negotiators and the ODMs, as well as the hardline posititons of both camps which has hampered the success of the talks.

  Kibaki: (speaking slowly) its because they want me to create a prime minister position and I am prepared to do so-we shall do so, but only under the current constitution and in a coalition agreement

  Annan: (leaning wearily back in his seat) yes your excellency, I understand your position

  Kibaki :(speaking strongly) you know Annan my friend, there is no constitutional vacuum in the country

  Annan: (nodding) yes sir, of course sir

  Kibaki: (rubbing his hands together) now of course I am personally receptive to making constitutional changes that reflect the wishes of Kenyans

  Suddenly a door opens and Martha Karua walks in briskly, leans over and whispers directly in Kibaki’s ear. Immediately after, she turns round and walks out without looking in the either Annan or Mkapa’s direction

  Annan: (startled at the site of Karua; sweat breaks on his brow, and he takes a handkerchief out of his immaculate pocket and mops his forehead)

  Mkapa: (slightly pale at the sight of Karua) are you ok Daktari? Do you want some glasses of water?

  Annan: (shaking his head) no thank you Ben, I am fine, just the heat

  Kibaki: (suddenly rising and walking behind a desk) gentlemen, I am afraid I have to be leaving soon but as I was saying I would like a speedy finalisation of this coalition government

  Annan and Mkapa instinctively rise to their feet puzzled

  Kibaki: (smiling) honourable Raila knows he can be a coalition partner under my Government even as a prime minister because the current constitution allows for this

  Annan and Mkapa nod silently

  Kibaki: (continuing) so, I am ready and willing to share responsibilities of my Government with ODM; please let my friend Raila know this

  A door opens and Kalonzo Musyoka, Professor Sam Ongeri, Martha Karua, Mutula Kilonzo and Moses Wetangula walk single file into the room in silence. Smiling, Kalonzo walks upto Kibaki and stands by his right side looking directly at Annan and Mkapa

  Annan: (thinking silently to himself….the meeting must be over)

  Mkapa:(silently thinking to himself…..jeshi la mzee au nini hawa watu wa bara)

  Annan: (smiling stiffly) thank you for your time your excellency

  Mkapa: (smiling cheerfully) Kwaheri Rais, hamjambo wazir wa serikali

• My Dream About The Next President Of Kenya

  Posted: February 27, 2008, 4:16 pm by chris

  By Wanjiku of Mombasa
  
  In these days when the 1.00 pm news bulletin can change your travel plans, it seems some main characters have still not yet grasped the magnitude of the problems that may come about if the talks fail. Or maybe they just don’t care. Just last week it was almost clear we were going the power sharing way. For the sake of sanity I want to believe that is the way things will end up despite a snag here and a deadlock there. Did we expect power sharing negotiations to be smooth? I want to be optimistic that a solution will come out of the house of peace. For me what remains to be seen is whether the deal, when officially sealed, will appease ODM and PNU supporters. More so the ODM since they’re the aggrieved party. And by supporters I mean voters, not the so called hardliners and million shillings per plate dinner buyers.
  
  For the sake of much needed hope and optimism, let us assume that Kenya shall get over this recent snag in the negotiations. But first let us acknowledge that if indeed we go the coalition way, neither Kibaki nor Raila will be what his supporters expected. After all we voted for our favorite candidate to be in full control of government. Let us also acknowledge the obvious possibility of incessant bickering in government for as long as the said coalition lasts. Even in the absence of bickering, settling into the new arrangement would be quite a distraction from the day to day running of the country. Don’t be surprised if neither half of the government delivers much for this whole term.
  
  ODM for example will most probably be opposing the other half of government left right and center from day one. Just as well since if the power sharing deal works, Kenya will not have much of an opposition anyway. I had a domo session with a certain Kumekucha fence sitter and we agreed that Raila is a natural born oppositionist. That is not necessarily a bad thing because his opposing traits have helped expose scandals which Kenyans might never have got wind of. Some may argue that if Raila had lost the elections fairly and duly conceded, Kenya would have had the best opposition ever.
  
  Sometimes I allow myself the luxury of dreaming a little on the wild side. Ok, a lot. Supposing we had a different president other than the two for some time as we put our act together? Go on, feel free to dream. Our strange dreams will not be signed into law any time soon. John Githongo for example? PLO Lumumba? Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi? All worthy leaders but unfortunately, this being Kenya in February 2008, anyone born within our borders will elicit the tribal debate afresh. We’re therefore looking for a tribeless president people and that can only mean one from without. I told you it was wild!
  
  I can feel the daggers but we’re dreaming remember? Look at it this way. We cannot expect a thief to be a fair jury in his own case. Even if Kibaki tried really hard to share power, he has to cover his interests. We know for a fact that he will not step down for Raila. In short Raila will not be president and Kibaki will not be a fair president. So we need this neutral person for a short time while we put our house in order. Before he/she learns the ropes of corruption, tribalism, land grabbing and other vices that seem to be necessary qualifications for our politicians, Kenya will be mended and it will be time for him/her to go. After which we can elect a whole new bunch of leaders – preferably people who have never held public office before. And Kenya can boast another first.

• Breaking News: ODM Demo Called Off

  Posted: February 27, 2008, 5:55 am by Taabu

  ODM leader Raila Odinga has called off demonstrations slated for tomorrow after meeting Kofi Annan. In his quest to breathe new life to dead talks Annan is reported to be meeting Kibaki to take personal responsibility on his side to salvage Kenya.
  
  The indefatigable Annan remain resilient in the face of PNU's pussy-footing and deceptive antics. Whether it amounts to another round of circular charades only time will tell given the lack of leadership from Kibaki's corner.
  
  It is a national shame and unimaginable to have minister leading a negotiation team throw juvenile political tantrums in front of imminent persons. That is iron lady Martha Karua for Kenya, an epitome of Kibaki's illegitimate regime.

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes