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