Political Forces Negotiate in Kenya to Solve Crisis

The stalemate in the political crisis that has fractured Kenya has brought the government and opposition to the negotiating table. The talks will be held after the formation of a committee, which must represent all the political forces in clash.

Related:
UN Welcomes Kenya’s Willingness To Lead Int’l Force in Haiti

Through a statement, the government coalition headed by President William Rutto’s Kenya Kwanza (Kenya First) party confirmed the start of the talks. The challenge is then that they are carried out within an inclusive framework and that contradictions can give way to common points.

For its part, the opposition platform Azimio la Umoja (Declaration of Unity), led by Raida Odinga, issued a statement in which it announced that it accepts the executive’s invitation to dialogue. The committee will be made up of ten people, five members from each of the parties. According to press reports, the talks will be held under the mediation of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007).

The country is going through months of protests and unrest following the government’s decision to increase taxes on food, fuel (up to 16 percent) and other commodities.

In early July, at least 15 people were killed and hundreds arrested during two rounds of protests, in which police forces fired live ammunition at demonstrators. At that time the opposition called for protests after the government of President William Ruto announced an increase in taxes, which, according to the administration, would be used to pay the debt.

On several occasions, the Azimio la Umoja coalition condemned the violence that the country has experienced, causing the loss of human lives, serious injuries and destruction of property, blaming the government for the social and economic chaos that prevails in Kenya.

Ruto’s government has been unable to solve the fundamental problems afflicting Kenyan society. The country remains deeply unequal, with many people eating no more than once a day, due to the high cost of basic commodities that have continued to rise. It has also failed to recover agriculture, one of the key branches of the Kenyan economy. Another issue awaiting a response is youth unemployment. The country has three quarters of its population in youth age but enjoys a very low level in the country’s labor market.

The demand to solve these problems is at the root of the social unrest that prevails in Kenya. However, the main obstacle that the talks will have to overcome is to reach a consensus on the legitimacy of the elections that brought Ruto to the presidency. Odinga and his organization believe that the results of the 2022 elections were manipulated.

Only in this way will they be able to join forces to face the socioeconomic challenges facing the nation.