News story (by Joseph Murimi and Abiya Ochola) - Raila on fence mending mission

Ref: http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143983313&cid=4&PHPSESSID=a43fa6b86a696bc904fa36e029efc8f5


Published on March 15, 2008, 12:00 am

By Joseph Murimi and Abiya Ochola

Prime Minister-designate Mr Raila Odinga agreed the Government’s planned sale of 25 per cent stake in Safaricom should proceed over lunch with Finance Minister, Mr Amos Kimunya.

The two hitherto bitter rivals, whose impatience with each other dominated the referendum campaigns in 2005 and the General Election, last year, settled for lunch as part of another bridge-building process.

It was also the day the President’s son, Mr Jimmy Kibaki drove into Orange Democratic Movement’s Pentagon House for a richly symbolic meeting with Raila. With the Opposition leader, who on Thursday shared lunch with Justice Minister Martha Karua, one of his perennial critics was his son Fidel. The older Odinga later posed for a symbolic picture with the young men. The images of the smiling trio were later circulated to media houses, yet another signal to the country Dr Kofi Annan’s ‘prescription’ is working.

Kicking off the Sh10 billion Safaricom shares’ sale, which ODM resisted last year arguing it was the President’s campaign fundraiser ruse, Kimunya exhibited growing deference for Raila.

Kimunya referred to Kibaki and Raila as "our two leaders’’, and he further revealed: "He (Raila) told me that he would have wished to pay for his shares today were it not for lack of time. He supports this process and has told me to tell investors to participate in large numbers."

"It was cordial, they joked and laughed like old friends," said a source. "

The President said he was anxious and asked me when the IPO will start, while Raila wished us well," added Kimunya.

The series of what appears to be choreographed messages aimed at assuring the nation the walls between Kibaki and Raila are now lying in ruins, last week the two leaders straddled a golf course together. They later settled down to watch the rich man’s game, as cameras rolled.

Also with the President was Internal Security Minister Prof George Saitoti and the President’s son Jimmy.

Sources say it was at the golf event that Jimmy asked to have tea with the Prime Minister-designate, a deal that transpired today.

"A lot of people in government are embracing each other and trying to catch up with the President and PM-designate Raila Odinga," Mr Tony Gachoka, a Raila aide said.

"There is a way in which Raila and Kibaki moved too fast and caught people unawares," he added.

That was the health of the relations between the President’s Party of National Unity and Raila’s ODM since February 28, when they signed a power-sharing and national reconciliation accord before the watchful eye of Annan, and the world.

In a separate function yesterday, Raila talked of the urgent need to unite Kenya, saying political and ethnic tension had nearly splintered the country and urged Kenyans to jealously guard the National Accord and Reconciliation pact.

The Lang’ata MP warned Kenyans to be on the lookout for anyone bent on derailing the newfound national cohesion reached after several weeks of delicate negotiations.

"The country was heading towards balkanisation like Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia and some even suggested that we split the country, but we said Kenya must stand together and communities remain united in one Kenya," he said.

Raila likened the accord to a skyscraper, which takes several professionals to erect over a long period, but could be brought down by an inexperienced mason with rudimentary tools.

"Let us not bring non-experts to work again in our country," Raila warned, saying Kenya had reached the precipice of self-destruction after the contested poll and could ill-afford towards the same route again.

"The PM-designate has continued to pursue the spirit of the national accord and reconciliation pact. He has met publicly with leaders from across the political aisle from the President to MPs and ministers. There is real effort to reach out and it is now clear that most leaders are doing it," Gachoka said.

Raila, whose party last year fought the Safaricom IPO through court, met Kimunya before the launch the biggest sale of shares in the history of the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

The two had a private lunch at the Hotel Intercontinental where they discussed the IPO.

Kimunya later told journalists at Treasury during the launch that he had met the ODM leader over lunch and briefed him on the IPO.

He added: "Had it not been for time constraints he (Raila) could have joined us at this function," Kimunya said at the launch.

He revealed he met President Kibaki early in the week for a similar briefing where the Head of State also expressed goodwill for the sale.

Jimmy arrived at Pentagon offices 9.45am for the meeting that lasted about one hour. Jimmy is said to have arrived at the Pentagon offices driving himself in a Toyota Lexus accompanied by two bodyguards. The two held what aides described as a private meeting, but details of what was discussed remained sketchy.

But sources revealed Raila and Jimmy discussed how PNU and ODM now joined together in a grand coalition would work together.

Jimmy, his sister Judy and First Lady Lucy Kibaki were actively involved in campaigning for the re-election of the President during the General Election.

After the meeting at the Grand Regency Hotel, Karua said it was a bonding session with Raila who she said would be a senior Government official.

"Yes I had lunch with the Prime Minister-designate. He is going to be a senior government official and there is need for us to work together,’’ Karua was quoted as saying.

Prior to the Karua-Raila meeting, the prime-minister designate had hosted 100 PNU and ODM MPs at his Karen home for a "bonding session.’’

At the Karen dinner were Energy minister Mr Kiraitu Murungi, the Government Chief Whip Mr George Thuo and Central Imenti MP, Mr Gitobu Imanyara.

Raila delivered a keynote address at a farmers’ forum organised by the Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers. Nobel Peace Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai, and ODM Pentagon leaders Mr William Ruto, Mr Henry Kosgey and Mr Joseph Nyagah attended.

Raila asked Kenyans to dig deep into the country’s history to unearth "where the rains started beating us".

"Kenyans are united in saying never again," Raila said, yesterday, adding coalitions demanded compromises and goodwill.

Raila said there was need for Kenya to hold a National Ethnic Conference where leaders from different communities would discuss how the different communities.

"The conference will not only reconcile but also develop a code of conduct in inter-ethnic relations as the best way of addressing ethnic tension," he said.

"Kenya had lived a lie for 45 years. The pact is an opportunity to bridge the disconnect between rhetoric and reality. We need to examine the violence in total through the Independent Review Committee and the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission as a way of healing historical injustices," he said.

Raila told the forum there was need to revolutionise agriculture and put land speculators on notice ahead of the envisaged land reforms.

Raila noted that whereas Kenya was suffering from an acute food deficit, land speculators were hoarding several hectares of idle arable speculators.

"It is a shame that much land is not used for productivity, but speculation. Speculation undermines investments in agriculture because high land prices have locked out serious farmers. Land must be made available for production," he said.

Raila is set to be the second prime minister after founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, once a Bill tabled in Parliament creating the position is enacted.

Prof Maathai asked the Government to impose a ban on the shamba system of conserving forests, saying the custodians were the chief architects of the depleting forest cover.