A/S CARSON AND NSC SENIOR DIRECTOR GAVIN'S MEETING WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001082

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR A/S CARSON, NSC FOR SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR
AFRICA GAVIN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/02/2039
TAGS: PREL KDEM PHUM PINR PGOV KE

SUBJECT: A/S CARSON AND NSC SENIOR DIRECTOR GAVIN'S MEETING WITH
MARTHA KARUA

REF: NAIROBI 706

Classified By: Ambassador Michael E. Ranneberger for reasons 1.4 (B
and
D)

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) Assistant Secretary for African Affairs (A/S) Johnnie
Carson and National Security Council (NSC) Senior Director for
Africa Michelle Gavin met with former Minister of Justice,
National Cohesion, and Constitutional Affairs Martha Karua on
May 12. A/S Carson explained the dual purposes of his
visit: to reaffirm the strong ties between the U.S. and
Kenya, but also to express serious concerns about the lack of
progress in implementing the reform agenda. Karua, in turn,
stated that frustration with the lack of progress on reform
drove her recent decision to resign as Minister (Reftel). In
a wide-ranging discussion, Karua criticized both President
Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga for not actively supporting
the reform agenda (especially the Special Tribunal to hold
accountable those suspected of organizing and financing
post-election violence) and also for opening the door to
corruption in the Grand Coalition government. Karua stated
that Kofi Annan now irritates Kenya's leaders by pointing out
what they have not achieved, but that the international
community still could push Kenya's leaders beyond their
reform agenda comfort zone. Karua also expressed her concern
about the extrajudicial killings by police of Mt. Kenya
region youth, and was pessimistic about the prospects for
police reform. End Summary.


2. (C) Assistant Secretary for African Affairs (A/S) Johnnie
Carson and National Security Council (NSC) Senior Director for
Africa Michelle Gavin met with former Minister of Justice,
National Cohesion, and Constitutional Affairs Martha Karua on
May 12. A/S Carson explained the dual purposes of his visit:
to reaffirm the strong ties between the U.S. and Kenya, but
also to express serious concerns about the lack of progress
in implementing the reform agenda. NSC Senior Director for Africa
Gavin told Karua that President Barack Obama follows Kenya
closely and is worried that political gridlock is derailing
the reform process. Gavin expressed the opinion that debates
about protocol and the political pecking order were taking up
too much of politicians time and energy.

The Special Tribunal: A Harbinger of Hard Times for Reform
-------------- --------------


3. (C) Karua agreed, and offered that Kenyans, too, are
concerned about the lack of progress on reform and the
constant bickering of Kenya's leaders. She argued that the
reform process, while proceeding slowly, was on track until
December 2008, when the Cabinet failed to approve legislation
to establish a Special Tribunal to hold accountable those
suspected of organizing and financing Kenya's post-election
violence. She believes both President Kibaki and Prime
Minister Odinga bear blame for the failure for allowing their
supporters to undermine the Special Tribunal legislation and
the broader reform agenda. She also stated that the National
Security and Intelligence Service, the Police, the Head of
the Civil Service Francis Muthaura, and Ministers on both
sides of the grand coalition government worked to undermine
the legislation. When asked about the way forward, Karua
believed it would be fruitless to reintroduce Special
Tribunal legislation until " the politics are fixed." She
stated that ultimately, her frustration with the lack of
progress on reform (and appointments of judges without her
knowledge) had caused her to resign as Minister for Justice,
National Cohesion, and Constitutional Affairs (Minister of
Justice) (Reftel).


4. (C) Karua stated that, while she was still Minister of
Justice, the Head of the Civil service, whom she noted "is
the government", argued for an alternative to the Special
Tribunal: a special court that would report to the Chief
Justice. Karua noted that this option had been considered
and discarded by the Commission of Inquiry into Post-election
Violence (CIPEV) due to the Kenyan judicial system's
incapacity to deliver justice. Karua warned that the new
Minister of Justice might try to revive such a solution, but
doubted that such a tribunal could attack impunity at the
highest levels.

Police Reform Key
--------------

5. (C) Karua stated that there was also an urgent need for

NAIROBI 00001082 002 OF 002


police reform. She argued that police were a law unto
themselves, committing extortion and engaging in
extrajudicial killings. Karua alleged that police have
murdered approximately 2,000 youth from the Mt. Kenya region
where her Kikuyu tribe (and the closely related Meru and Embu
tribes) predominate. Karua was pessimistic about the
prospects for police reform, however, and dismissed a
recently-appointed Police Reform Commission (Septel) as an
attempt to do an end-run around the radical reforms suggested
by the CIPEV report. (Note: Karua's fears may be justified.
On May 13, the Minister for Internal Security and Provincial
Administration was quoted in the press as saying that only
"normal reforms" are required, i.e. looking at work
conditions of officers and increasing morale and efficiency.
End Note.)

Fighting Corruption
--------------


6. (C) Karua also attacked the grand coalition government
for having engaged in corruption and that she had made many
enemies by publicly criticizing some of her former
colleagues. Responding to A/S Carson's question about how
best to fight corruption, Karua suggested that removing
Attorney General Amos Wako would be the best starting point.
She accused Wako of failing to protect the GOK from
mega-corruption scandals, stating that Wako was actually
working to allow the GOK to pay on blatantly fraudulent
contracts related to the Anglo-Leasing scandal. She also
criticized Wako's failure to prosecute anyone for corruption
and stated that, in her new role as Parliamentary back
bencher, she was prepared to raise uncomfortable questions
about Wako's performance.

The Way Forward
--------------


7. (C) Karua suggested that the only way to break the cycle
of impunity and corruption was to engage in deep reforms,
followed by a changing of the political guard. She stated
that the electoral reforms will be key to changing the
current system. She also suggested that political parties
should not be involved in the constitutional reform process
and criticized a recent constitutional package proposed by
the Party of National Unity. She suggested that what Kenya
needed was a dispassionate non-partisan discussion on the
contents of a new constitution, although she recognized this
was not likely to occur. Responding to A/S Carson's question
about Kofi Annan's ongoing role in implementing the reform
agenda, Karua stated that Annan, "had lost his voice," and
that he now irritates Kenya's political leaders by pointing
out what promises they had not fulfilled. She cited recent
criticism of Annan by Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and the
Head of the Civil Service Francis Muthaura as examples of
this. Karua seemed to agree with the Ambassador's suggestion
that Annan was still useful because the public largely
supports his ongoing role and his involvement can be used to
galvanize public pressure to move forward on the reform
agenda. Karua stated that the international community still
had a useful role, and considered that the ongoing presence
of the African Union liaison office and the resident
diplomatic community could usefully help push Kenya's leaders
beyond their comfort zone in implementing reforms.

COMMENT
--------------


8. (C) Karua harbors a clear sense of grievance against the
grand coalition government. Although currently politically
isolated, she has the intellectual ability and access to
information to make life uncomfortable for her former
partners in government.


9. (U) This cable has been cleared by A/S Carson and NSC Senior
Director for Africa Gavin.

RANNEBERGER