January the 6th, 2009/API
Richard Leakey at the press conference
In Summary
The Grand Coalition Government has been asked to resign following the signing of the Kenya Communications (Amendment) Bill into law.
In a statement, Dr Richard Leakey said on Monday that the Government was “an embarrassment to this part of Africa”.
The Government is sharply divided after President Kibaki signed the Bill on January 2, sparking an outcry from media owners.
ODM, which has a majority in Parliament, has criticised the President’s decision because Prime Minister Raila Odinga had asked the President not to sign the Bill after complaints from various organisations who said the law was repressive.
Twenty-five MPs passed the law in Parliament last month, a move criticised by those who were absent from the House that day.
ODM has also complained that it was being “mistreated” by its coalition partner, PNU, and has also protested over the naming of a transition team to head the interim Electoral Commission of Kenya.
On Monday, Mr Odinga and top ODM leaders held a meeting in Nairobi in what appeared to be a sign of a strain in the coalition.
Crucial decisions
The PM and his party are increasingly getting concerned that crucial decisions are being made without their input.
Dr Leakey, a former head of the civil service and secretary to the Cabinet, said the country was not moving forward far enough from last year’s disputed election and the post-election violence.
“I ask this Government to stand down in shame and let the people bring back a new team who hopefully will respect Kenyans and our rights,” Dr Leakey said in the press statement he issued in his personal capacity.
The Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Christian Churches also issued a separate statement calling President Kibaki’s decision to sign the law as “definitely a move in the wrong direction”.
The law has been a point of major disagreement between the President and the PM, who had asked the President to withhold his signature from the legislation to pave the way for further consultations.
Slap in the face
Mr Odinga viewed the signing of the Bill as “a slap in the face” because he had earlier made public assurances that the President would not assent to the law.
Another point of disagreement has been the naming of the transition team at the electoral commission, after the earlier team was disbanded in line with the recommendations of the Kriegler report on the 2007 disputed presidential elections.
The PM has said ODM was not consulted in the naming of the transition team, and has ordered that ECK offices remain closed pending further consultations.
ODM and PNU have also disagreed over the naming of new ambassadors.
source.nation.ke