Khalwale was the US reform darling

Tuesday, 08 March 2011 00:01 BY FRANCIS MUREITHI

US embassy in Nairobi had identified former Ikolomani MP Bonny Khalwale as one of its allies in Parliament for pushing the coalition government implement the reform agenda, Wikileaks cable indicates.

Ambassador Michael Ranneberger told Washington that Khalwale’s “strong performance” as the chair of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee had 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,” Ranneberger said in a diplomatic cable dated November 6, 2009.

The ambassador also said Khalwale had used his position as PAC chair “as a bully pulpit, asking tough questions of the grand coalition government and gaining a measure of popularity in the process.”

Ranneberger however had some unkind words for Khalwale saying he was not an idealist. “However, Khalwale is not an idealist and knows the darker side of the Kenyan politics.

Last month, Khalwale lost his seat after a high court in Kakamega nullified his election over irregularities. Justice Isaac Lenaola ruled that the 2007 Ikolomani parliamentary election was not carried out freely, fairly and in accordance with the law and declared it null and void.

In the cable, Ranneberger said despite Khalwale’s darker side in Kenyan politics, his willingness to take vested interests and talk the truth had gained him a political appeal that crossed ethnic lines.

This, Ranneberger added, had made Khalwale “a potentially useful ally to galvanise public support for the reform agenda.” The ambassador also noted that unlike many prominent Kenyan politicians, Khalwale was raised in poverty and this background and his direct approach to politics appealed to ordinary Kenyans.

Ranneberger said in one of the meetings with officials of the US embassy, Khalwale was pessimistic that the grand coalition government was capable of delivering serious constitutional reforms and that both PNU and ODM were pursuing their own financial and political interests rather than pushing for serious reforms.

Khalwale also expressed fears that both PNU and ODM could nominate members to PAC who would oppose his re-election as the committee’s chair.