PARLIAMENT ALREADY FLIRTING WITH A STALEMATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L NAIROBI 001348 SIPDIS SIPDIS LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2026 TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM PREL KE SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT ALREADY FLIRTING WITH A STALEMATE REF: NAIROBI 1262 Classified By: Political Counselor Michael J. Fitzpatrick for reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: President Kibaki kicked off the re-opening of the long-suspended Parliament March 21 by highlighting the government,s economic successes and glossing over or completely ignoring issues potentially damaging to the government. As expected, the opposition was quick to criticize the President,s speech for failing to address the real issues facing Kenya, including national reconciliation and allegations of mercenaries in Kenya. The opposition's subsequent withrawal from the highly influential House Business Committee bodes poorly for Parliament's ability to set aside political differences and sucessfully tackle its long list of legislative priorities. END SUMMARY. -------------- Lackluster Speech Focuses on Successes -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Kibaki lamented that the legislative performance of the previous session of Parliament had not met Kenyans' expectations, with a mere 7 bills passed of the 25 proposed. He appealed to MPs to put aside politics and to focus on the legislative priorities of Kenyans (as defined by his government) to advance the social and economic development of the country. ¶3. (SBU) President Kibaki outlined the legislative priorities for Parliament to include new and old bills. Among them are: the Statute Bill, which would amend the Public Officer Ethics Act of 2003 to require public declarations of wealth and assets; a bill increasing the number of judicial officers to improve the capacity of the judiciary; the Witness Protection Bill, designed to afford greater protection to whistleblowers; a bill which would enable the government to recover money obtained illegally; and the Political Parties Bill, which would allow for the Treasury to fund political parties in an effort to level the playing field for all and to reduce corruption. Other bills to be tabled include those relating to small and medium scale enterprises, micro-finance, savings and credit cooperatives, the cotton and coffee industries, banking, gender equity, and the management of local authorities. ¶4. (SBU) Kibaki also delivered something of a state of the union address in attempt to dazzle critics with highlights of his administration's contribution to Kenya,s economic performance, and its efforts to respond to the current drought. He glossed over several contentious issues, spinning them to present the government,s actions in a good light. The opposition was anything but fooled, and booed loudly when the President praised government anti-corruption efforts, the constitutional review process, and respect for the freedom of the press. Much of Kibaki,s address following these statements was lost as government supporters attempted to drown out their opposing ranks, boos with enthusiastic foot stomping. -------------- Critical Retorts -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Kibaki,s rather predictable speech stood in stark contrast to National Assembly Speaker Francis Ole Kaparo,s rousing denunciation of the government,s failure to improve the lot of ordinary Kenyans who, as he put it, exist in a state of &hopelessness8. Kaparo also condemned the government,s encroachment on democratic space, stating &speaking the truth has been criminalized in our times.8 This was greeted with fiercely supportive foot stomping by the opposition. ¶6. (C) Not unexpectedly, the opposition criticized Kibaki,s address for failing to promote reconciliation and national healing following last November,s politically polarizing referendum vote. Orange Democratic Movement luminary Raila Odinga described the President,s speech to the DCM as &hopeless8 for being out of touch with the real issues important to Kenyans. He upbraided the President for making no mention of the allegations of foreign mercenaries hired to destroy the opposition. The President,s continued silence on the March 2 media raid also rankled the opposition. -------------- Breakdown in Parlaiment -------------- ¶7. (SBU) During Parliament's first day of business, political wrangles emerged over the composition of the House Business Committee (HBC). (NOTE: The HBC is the most powerful committee in Parliament, as it determines the agenda and functioning of Parliament. Additionally, the composition of the parliamentary sub-committees mirror that of the HBC. END NOTE.) The HBC chairman, Vice President Moody Awori, announced that the HBC would be comprised of 14 pro-government and six opposition members. This is in stark contrast to past practice, which has maintained that the composition of the HBC should be 11 pro-government to nine opposition members. The government argues that LDP,s seats are to be counted among the government members, given LDP's membership in the ruling coalition since 2002. However, in light of the falling-out between LDP and it's NARC partners, LDP was allocated only one slot. Odinga, LDP's de facto leader, denounced the inadequacy of the single seat allotted to LDP and argued that his party deserved three seats, which would raise the ratio to the customary 9-11. Government supporters rejected this argument. ¶8. (C) Recognizing that it lacked the numbers to challenge the government,s overwhelming majority, the opposition withdrew its membership in HBC rather than lend legitimacy to the committee,s decisions. Following the day,s events, Awori, declared that the committee did not need opposition members to carry out its mandate and would operate without them. Chief KANU Whip and Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) member Justin Muturi told Pol Specialist March 23 that should this one-sided HBC subsequently suppress the tabling of the PAC,s report on Anglo-Leasing (which would be tempting for HBC Chairman Awori, who is certain to be mentioned adversely in the report),the opposition may take their battle to the streets. ¶9. (SBU) COMMENT: Government supporters, in seizing an opportunity to have full control of this critical body, may also have provided the opposition fodder to discredit the HBC as insular and unrepresentative. This is likely to translate into many more nasty exchanges in Parliament, meaning the prospects for completing any serious business during this session are dim. END COMMENT. BELLAMY