Did PNU Send Muthaura To Test The Waters?
Whoever sent Mr. Francis Muthaura, Head of the Civil Service, to a Press conference to open his big mouth about the ”Government power structure” expected in the Peace agreement between Prime Minister designate Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki must have gaffed. Either, Muthaura was sent to test the waters or PNU could be up to some mischief.
First, Muthaura has no legal mandate whatsoever to give official views or recommendations on the Agreement document. He was not even close to the mediation table. What the Nation is awaiting for now is for the matter to be handled through Parliament and no one individual can dictate single-handedly about the expected responsibilities that will be conferred upon the Prime Minister. What is known and what was agreed upon on paper is that the PM will have Executive powers.
It was agreed that the PM will come from the Party with majority seats in Parliament so there is no way the President can appoint the Prime Minister unless Hon Muthaura had just come from a spree when he made the announcement.
There has been a wave of condemnations across Kenya of Muthaura’s careless talk and just in case he was sent by Martha Karua or Amos Kimunya to test the waters, whoever sent him should have gotten the message by now – that Kenyans will not accept to be dragged backwards.
If, on the other hand, PNU is plotting some mischief, then the Party should remember two things. One, the distribution of PM’s powers will be debated by MPs in Parliament who will have to vote in order to pass any recommendations. PNU does not command majority votes in Parliament and this was evidenced the other day when ODM took control of both the Speaker’s and Vice speaker’s posts. PNU should have learnt its lessons then to understand that they are unlikely to win any vote in Parliament in the near future unless they collaborate with ODM, the majority Party in the House.
Secondly, if PNU has hatched a secret plan to water down PM’s powers, the conspirators should remember that in case they work out miracles and get their way (and this is a big IF), they might be faced with another election because the issue now is to ensure that ODM is not rubbed on the wrong side.
The Agreement states that if any Party pulls out of the Coalition, Kenyans will have to go back to the ballot box and every conscious Kenyan knows what will happen – PNU will be sent packing. Officially, the Coalition has a life span of two years so PNU members should take their cue because ODM could embed the Agreement on the Constitution, restructure the Electoral Commission then pull out to clean up the remnants of PNU in the Coalition government in a new election.
The Muthaura outburst should be easy to deal with and I think Kenyans should ignore what he said. It’s good to know that ODM and pro-peace Kenyans are not asleep. In any case, there is the Nyundo called “Mass action” and the last time I checked, it was ODM which had the keys to the dungeon where this awful Nyundo is currently housed.
The impact of this weapon was last time dubbed “Post election violence”. This time, it might be baptized “Post Agreement Chaos” and who the hell wants a “re-run” of what Kenyans witnessed? There is only one Koffi Annan and he might not return this time to show Kenyans how to democratize their country part two! Let us keep the peace!
Okoth Osewe
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Newly Launched “Voice of Women (VOW)” And Challenges Ahead
During the International Women’s Day observed on Saturday 8th of March, a quiet event which could be of significant importance in the future also took place in Skarpnäck, Stockholm.
An organization that was formed a few weeks ago called Voice of Women (VOW) was launched at a moderately attended ceremony also marked by dance, food and social exchanges.
According to a KSB contact who was covering the event, the clientele included women from Kenya, Sweden, Uganda and other countries while a sprinkling of men of different nationalities also graced the occasion to show solidarity. It was impressive that the new organization managed to penetrate into the local Swedish TV channel to advertise the launching of the organization.
An important agenda that was highlighted when the group was formed was the fight for the rights of women in Sweden. Kenyan women playing leading roles in the new organization are Pastor Beatrice Kamau, Mrs Josephine Mberi, Mrs Margarett Njihia, Mama Keegan among others.
During the launch, where food cost as little as 50 kr, the youth were also represented. Funds raised from sale of food and soft drinks will be pumped into the new organization to keep it afloat.
The organization was launched at a time when women’s organizations led by focused women especially from Africa are scarce in Sweden. While the Swedish society is teething with well established Women’s organizations across the country, Immigrants are not well represented in this field. It is for this reason that the launching of VOW could be significant.
The main challenge for the new organization is to interest women from all walks of life to join in its agenda especially Kenyan women, some of whom are already in leading positions in VOW.
As a young organization, VOW should also include in its agenda a Program of taking contact with established Women’s groups and organizations in Sweden to borrow ideas which it could harness with its own independent initiatives as it goes about popularizing itself among its target audience in Sweden.
The organization faces a big challenge especially when it comes to tackling abuses of women within the tiny Kenyan community in Stockholm. In the past, cases of domestic violence against women have been reported with at least one death of a woman who was abused by her husband.
Many Kenyan parents are bringing up teen agers and organizing events targeted at this age group could also be an area that could led VOW into interesting the youth in the new organization.
VOW should not just focus on addressing fundamental rights of women but should also consider the issue of helping young mothers who come into contact with it as time progresses.
VOW has a challenging task in addressing the attitude problem that might still exist among certain men towards women, gender parity especially in Kenya and other African countries together with sensitive issues like prostitution and alcoholism especially among Kenyan women in Stockholm. Family or matrimonial crisis together with rebellion of the youth to parental guidance could also form part of VOW’s Program of action.
Okoth Osewe
March 11, 2008 Posted by makozewe | Commentary | Leave a Comment