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DE RUEHNR #1168/01 1621154
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O 111154Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9798
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
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RUZEFAA/CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUZEFAA/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001168 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/E FOR SUSAN DRIANO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KE
SUBJECT: KEY PARLIAMENTARIAN PESSIMISTIC ON REFORMS, SEEKS 
U.S. SUPPORT TO CREATE NEW POLITICAL FORCE 
 
REF: A. NAIROBI 1101 
     ¶B. 08 NAIROBI 1692 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Michael E. Ranneberger for reasons 1.4 (B and 
 D) 
 
SUMMARY 
 ------- 
 
¶1.  (C) Poloff met on June 2 with Dr. Boni Khalwale, the 
Chair of the Kenyan Parliament's Public Accounts Committee 
(PAC), a key watchdog committee.  Khalwale has used his 
position as a bully pulpit, asking tough questions of the 
Grand Coalition government and gaining a measure of 
popularity in the process.  Khalwale told poloff that he 
expected to be re-elected as Chair of the PAC after 
parliamentary committees are reconstituted, a process 
currently underway.  Furthermore, he stated that he and 
former Minister of Justice Martha Karua had agreed to join 
efforts in parliament to hold the government accountable. 
Khalwale was pessimistic that the grand coalition government 
would pursue significant constitutional reform.  He argued 
that key members of the grand coalition were pursuing their 
own political and economic interests to the detriment of the 
reform agenda.  Khalwale welcomed the Ambassador's continuing 
engagement to help coalesce youth, civil society, and the 
private sector to push the reform agenda.  However, Khalwale 
said some reformist parliamentarians, naturally including 
himself, want to join this effort -- which we welcome.  End 
Summary. 
 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Poloff met on June 2 with Dr. Bonny Khalwale (ethnic 
Luhya, New Ford-Kenya party), the Chair of the Kenyan 
Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC).  Khalwale is in 
his second-term as a member of parliament (MP) representing 
Ikolomani constituency, in Western Province.  Khalwale was 
first elected to parliament in 2002 on the ticket of 
President Kibaki's then-political vehicle, NARC.  However, 
sensing the shifting political winds in Western Province, 
Khalwale resisted entreaties by Musalia Mudavadi, the Luhya's 
lead political figure, to join the Orange Democratic Movement 
(ODM).  Instead Khalwale joined up with the non-aligned New 
FORD-Kenya party and successfully defended his seat.  He is a 
surgeon by profession.  Unlike many prominent Kenyan 
politicians, Khalwale was raised in poverty and this 
background and his direct approach to politics appeal to 
ordinary Kenyans. 
 
Keeping the Coalition Honest 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) Khalwale told poloff that he had used his position as 
Chair of the PAC as a bully pulpit to try to keep the grand 
coalition government honest.  (Note: The PAC is one of four 
key watchdog committees in the Kenyan Parliament.  Under 
Kenya's parliamentary system, watchdog committees are chaired 
by opposition members.  Currently there is no official 
opposition, but Khalwale's New Ford-Kenya party is not 
aligned to either side of the grand coalition government. 
End Note.) Indeed he has made his reputation by asking 
difficult questions of Ministers on both sides of the grand 
coalition government.  For example, in June 2008 Khalwale 
questioned then-Minister of Finance Amos Kimunya on his role 
in the sale of a luxury hotel.  The resulting furor 
eventually resulted in Kimunya's resignation (Reftel B). 
More recently, he questioned discrepancies in the 
supplementary budget, embarrassing Minister of Finance/Deputy 
Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.  Khalwale stated that he'd 
received private criticism for this from MPs because he had 
exposed Parliament's failure to scrutinize the budget. 
Khalwale noted that the recently passed Fiscal Management 
Bill, which will increase Parliament's role in budget 
formulation, is awaiting the President's assent. 
 
¶4.  (C) Khalwale stated that his approach had made him few 
friends among the political elite, but that he had received 
much positive feedback from members of the public and civil 
society, with whom he frequently exchanges information.  He 
told poloff that Parliament is currently reconstituting its 
committees in line with new standing orders (Rules of 
Procedure), adopted in December 2008.  He thought that, if 
the PAC membership did not change drastically, he stands a 
good chance of retaining the Chair because the parliamentary 
committees elect their own Chairs.  Khalwale welcomed a 
 
NAIROBI 00001168  002 OF 002 
 
 
recent Speaker's ruling refusing to allow ODM and Party of 
National Unity (PNU) members to chair watchdog committees in 
the absence of an official opposition.  Khalwale thought (and 
other sources confirmed) the motion was aimed at stripping 
him of the PAC Chair.  However, he thought that both the PNU 
and the ODM might try to nominate members to the PAC who 
would oppose his re-election as Chair. 
 
Pessimism on Constitutional Reform 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Khalwale was pessimistic that the grand coalition 
government is capable of delivering serious constitutional 
reform, adding that both PNU and ODM are pursuing their own 
financial and political interests rather than pushing for 
serious constitutional reform.  He stated that ODM was 
seriously conflicted about constitutional reform. 
Backbenchers stand by ODM's 2007 campaign platform to devolve 
power to the provinces.  However, many ODM (and PNU) 
political figures in the grand coalition have presidential 
aspirations in 2012 and the status quo, with its strong 
presidential structure, suits their needs, according to 
Khalwale.  He expected that the grand coalition government 
would implement modest institutional reforms (and mentioned 
police and judicial reform as examples) to convince the 
international community that it was making progress. 
 
Working for Reform 
------------------ 
 
¶6.  (C)  Khalwale noted that he was working with former 
Minister of Justice Martha Karua to maintain pressure in 
Parliament for the government to implement reforms.  He 
supported the Ambassador's continuing efforts to energize 
youth groups and civil society to press for reform (Reftel 
A).  He thought that the situation today is similar to that 
Kenya faced in the early 1990s, when Khalwale was a student 
leader pushing for multi-party democracy.  He said 
reform-minded parliamentarians will work with the Ambassador 
to press for reform -- which we welcome.  (Note: We are 
extensively engaged in outreach to reformist elements of 
Parliament.  End Note.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7.  (C) Khalwale is a politician worth watching.  His strong 
performance as Chair of the PAC has prevented the grand 
coalition government from being too complacent, despite the 
absence of an official opposition.  He has a sharp mind and 
smooth manner that allows him to build networks.  However, 
Khalwale is not a idealist and knows the darker side of 
Kenyan politics: he was fined in the runup to the 2007 
election by the now-defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya for 
hiring a youth gang to intimidate a rival candidate's 
supporters.   However, his willingness to take on vested 
interests  and talk truth to power has gained him a political 
appeal that crosses ethnic lines, making him a potentially 
useful ally to galvanize public support for the reform 
agenda.  End Comment. 
RANNEBERGER