BREAKING:
President Uhuru has announced that he will embrace dialogue as proposed by CORD leader Raila Odinga, subsequently he will tomorrow chair Jubilee parliamentary Group to come up with names to be included in joint select committee to set up resolve IEBC crisis.
Uhuru said he had held talks with speakers of both houses (National Assembly and The Senate) and the clergy. The special select committee will be set up in accordance with the standing orders and will harmonise views from both sides of the divide.
The president’s change of heart puts to shame Deputy President William Ruto who yesterday during TV interview seemed to take an extreme position of NO DIALOGUE.
Here is the press conference issued by Uhuru that seem to suggest that he is for dialogue in and out of parliament
PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT UHURU KENYATTA
Dear Kenyans, Good afternoon,
The debate around IEBC reforms has been raging for a while now. And as President, I wish to give direction regarding this matter.
Let me begin by affirming Article 1 of Chapter 1 of our Constitution, which states that “…All sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya…” But the Article goes ahead to emphasize that this power “…shall be exercised ONLY in accordance with the constitution” Any attempts to exercise it outside the provisions of the constitution not only undermines both the spirit and letter of the constitution, but is also a recipe for confusion and anarchy.
Secondly, let me reaffirm Article 3(1) of the constitution that states; “…every person has an obligation to respect, uphold and defend this constitution” This obligation is NOT an OPTION. It is imperative, mandatory and an irreducible civic duty. As your President, I have sworn to defend it; but as citizens, you have this irreversible duty to protect it.
It is in the spirit of these constitutional provisions that today I held consultations with Religious Leaders drawn from most faiths in the country. I also invited our two speakers, Hon. Justin Muturi of the National Assembly and Hon. Ekwe Ethuro of the Senate to attend.
At this meeting we agreed on the following steps on how to move the country forward.
FIRSTLY, Subsequent to the agreement of the Speakers, a Joint Select Committee of both houses of Parliament be set up in accordance with the standing orders of both houses. The mandate of the committee will be strictly and exclusively the matter of IEBC.
SECONDLY, As provided for in the standing orders of both houses of Parliament, and in the constitutional spirit of public participation, all stakeholders, public and private should be accorded an opportunity to make submissions to the joint select committee.
THIRDLY, We expect that other initiatives by Parliament will harmonize their work within the framework of the joint select committee.
FOURTHLY, As the leader of Jubilee, I have convened a meeting of the Parliamentary Group tomorrow morning to agree on the membership and Jubilee’s participation in the joint select committee.
Uhuru Kenyatta, CGH
President
8th June, 2016
CORD last week named a team comprising of:
1. Hon. James Orengo.
2. Hon. Johnstone Muthama
3. Hon. Junet Mohammed (Wuod Suna pek Meli)
4. Hon. Mishi Mboko
5. Dr. Eseli Simiyu.
Joint secretaries
1. Mr. Paul Mwangi.
2. Grace Katasi.
Remember CORD had given an ultimatum of 10 days. “If by Sunday an acceptable proposal for negotiation is not on table we will be demonstrating on Monday and Thursday” a insider in CORD told this writer.
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