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The emerging brinkmanship over the proposed bipartisan talks on how to move the country forward poses a mortal threat to kick-starting of the negotiations between the ruling Kenya Kwanza Alliance and the opposition Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition.

When President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga first spoke, they raised hopes among Kenyans that white smoke had at last been sighted and there was optimism that they would agree on the way forward and engage their lieutenants to do the heavy lifting that was needed to hire new electoral commissioners and address other issues raised by the opposition.

Since then, however, the talks appear to have gone into reverse gear with new demands being introduced at every stage. The latest was made by Azimio, which now wants the hospital bills of protesters injured in clashes with the police to be waived. But even as the opposition made this demand, it also announced that its supporters would be back in the streets once Ramadhan is over . Should the protests turn violent, which is highly likely given past patterns, it can only that more people will be injured. This should be avoided at all cost. So far, there is little that is bipartisan about what the two sides of the political divide have said so far. If it is true that the Leader of Majority has tabled a notice of motion to kick-start the process, yet did not involve the Leader of Minority, then there is clearly a problem. There should be consultation at all levels.

All hopes are, however, not lost and there is still a modicum of optimism that a way will be found to address what we ought to consider as teething problems. There is, however, need for both sides to cede some ground so that the talks can begin. It is encouraging, for instance, that the government side has agreed to the number of elected leaders proposed by the opposition and also agreed that the respective teams can get support from external experts. The deal that led to protest-related charges against legislators being dropped was also a good sign.

However, there is need for good faith and for the parties to stick to the issues raised so far and desist from introducing new demands at this point in time. The most important thing is to get the two teams to a table together so that they can agree on their terms of reference and ensure they stick to a mutually acceptable deadline by which they must conclude the talks. This, in short, is the time for them to demonstrate leadership and take the high moral ground. They must not disappoint.