Bipartisan talks begin at Bomas

Bipartisan talks between the Kenya Kwanza and Azimio la Umoja coalitions began on August 9 at Bomasof Kenya, Nairobi County.

This is the second round after the first round of talks collapsed following failure by President William Ruto led Kenya Kwanza government failed to honor demands by the Raila Odinga led Azimio coalition.

The talks were led by Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka.

Musyoka released a statement ahead of the talks expressing goodwill on the opposition side stating the significance of the talks to the entire country.

"As a Coalition, we are committed to the search for justice, unity, peace, and prosperity for our country, in accordance with the ethos, values, principles, and provisions of our Constitution. As leader of our delegation, and on behalf of our coalition, I believe Kenya Kwanza does too," Musyoka stated.

He said that both teams are having talks for the sake of the county's issues and not for personal gains.

"These issues should unite, not divide us. I, therefore, wish to appeal to this gathering not to assemble in vain. I appeal to all of us to commit that we shall not let our people down and that we shall put people's interests first."

Musyoka assured that the negotiations would be in good faith "uphold and promote integrity throughout the dialogue process and regularly and honestly update the people of Kenya on the developments throughout this process."

He further reiterated that their team will not negotiate for any form of a power-sharing deal with their counterparts nor put any personal interest ahead.

Mbarire who represented Kenya Kwanza team leader Kimani Ichungwa made opening remarks as she also expressed commitment ahead of the talks.

"We are here because we know that our country is more important than anyone of us. We come here in good faith putting the interest of Kenyans first and we want to promise our Azimio counterparts that we will take this process very seriously and come up with a long-lasting solution," Mbarire said.

The media was asked to stay outside at the beginning of the session as the team promised to hold a press briefing at the end of the talks.

The agreement to hold talks came after former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo brokered a truce between the two sides.

The commencement of the talks faced various hurdles as both teams gave conditions on the issues to be discussed in the dialogue.

The opposition team had maintained its stance that the cost of living remains its priority in the talks giving an ultimatum of 30 days.

Other issues are the audit of the 2022 Presidential Election Results, restructuring and reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and related matters, measures to prevent interference with political parties, and outstanding constitutional matters (governance issues, adequate checks and balances and questions of boundaries delimitation).

On the other side, President William Ruto this week set two conditions for the beginning of the talks with the opposition.

"Now I want to ask you the second issue of concern that we also agree that violence, fights, and property destruction should be stopped in our country Kenya. If we agree on those two that there is no handshake and there is no violence then we can proceed as a country, and we can discuss the rest of the things," Ruto said.

Azimio la Umoja Coalition delegation led by Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka includes Minority Party Leader Opiyo Wandayi, DAP Party Leader Eugene Wamalwa, Nyamira Senator Okong'o Omogeni, and Malindi MP Amina Mnyazi.

Kenya Kwanza team is being led Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah and includes Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot, Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire, EALA MP Hassan Omar, and Bungoma MP Catherine Wambilianga.