Politics
‘I Have Forgiven Uhuru For Calling Me A Mad Man’ – Raila Odinga
ODM leader Raila Odinga (pictured) has narrated how he and President Uhuru Kenyatta buried the hatchet to forge a united front.
Speaking at the University of Nairobi where he met youth from Mt Kenya, Raila said he has since forgiven Uhuru for calling him muguruki, Gikuyu for a mad man.
The ODM leader said the President had also forgiven him for referring to him as a drunkard.
Raila was explaining what happened in the aftermath of the 2017 repeat presidential election that he and his team boycotted.
Following the stalemate, Raila and Uhuru, on March 9, 2018, buried their differences in a rapprochement now famously called the Handshake.
The ODM leader said he and Uhuru were locked in two meetings that lasted 13 hours and six hours before they agreed to resolve the issues.
Their motivation, Raila says, was the nationalistic roles played by their fathers and hence their contribution to Kenya’s independence.
Raila said their fathers were so close that Uhuru is like his brother. “We remember where we came from and our sense of nationalism,” he said.
He cautioned Kenyans against viewing each other only by the community they belong to.
“Never again will Kenyans fight after an election,” the ODM leader added.
Raila further added that he is confident next year’s polls will be free and fair.
He said the top contributor to post-election violence is how the polls are conducted.
“IDPs are still in camps since the 2007-08 post-poll chaos.”
Raila said there is a need to address unity in the run-up to the election to avoid violence, which is what the Handshake is premised on.
Raila’s meeting with the Mount Kenya youth comes on the backdrop of politicians wooing the vote-rich bloc ahead of the general election.
The Mount Kenya Foundation (MKF) leaders have announced they will unveil their preferred presidential candidate at a retreat in Limuru.
MKF made the disclosure on October 8 as they fought claims that they had settled on ODM leader Raila Odinga on a day One Kenya Alliance (OKA) principals made a strong pitch for their respective candidature.
The businessmen and politicians challenged the opposition leaders to present a united front in the next poll to avoid splitting votes in what may work in favour of Deputy President William Ruto.
Deputy President William Ruto has vowed to that his government if given the mandate to lead the country in the August 9 polls will deal with hands-on with ‘State capture.’
According to the Presidential candidate, state policies are being used to facilitate the theft of public funds as corruption had been absorbed into government.
DP William Ruto made these calims while speaking to the Reuters in an interview.
“We have no intention of prosecuting President Uhuru Kenyatta, but we have every intention of dealing with State capture. It cannot be business as usual,” the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) presidential candidate said.
DP Ruto’s running mate, Rigathi Gachagua also alluded to said State capture, saying those involved will be dealt with should Kenya Kwanza form the next government.
“We will not go after individuals. We will go after all those in state capture and conflict of interest,” Gachagua said in a joint media broadcast.
The Mathira MP vaguely explained that it was “people in power who have used or are using their offices to use up public resources to their advantage,” when asked who or what State capture was.
The DP has also revealed plans of bringing to end the Kenya’s national debt, which currently stands at Sh9 trillion, in an exclusive interview with international media.
He said the country has the capacity to handle the debt situation, and that they as Kenya Kwanza have mapped out plans of how to go about it, should they win.
“We will put the brakes on more borrowing. It may not come to zero but we will begin the journey to slow down on more borrowing,” the DP said.
Campaigns hit fever pitch and candidates scramble for airtime to sell their agendas with just eighteen (18) days left as Kenya will soon be headed to the General Election.
Sonko has increased the intense in the race for Mombasa county which already has aspirants from the UDA and ODM parties.
Sonko has finally been cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to contest for the Mombasa gubernatorial seat.
On Thursday, July 14 2022, Sonko in the accompany of his supporters was given the green light.
The former Nairobi governor was invited by the IEBC to submit his letter for clearance as per a letter addressed to him earlier.
“The venue will be the IEBC Mombasa County offices and you are expected to submit your papers on July 14, 2022 between 2pm and 4pm,” Swalha Ibrahim the returning officer said.
The letter to Sonko came after a high court ruled that the politician doesn’t be disqualified from vying for governor noting that the governor was eligible to run for office. The commission said it could not head to the courts to appeal the decision as time could not allow.
Addressing the media after the clearance, Sonko said his candidature seeks to solve the problems of the people in the Coastal city and that he was bringing a new awakening in the city.
Sonko said he was not worried about the short time time line he has to undertake the campaigns in the large city noting that he was drawing a campaign schedule to begin immediately.
“We must campaign, we have few days but we will utilize them properly. We can do two days per constituency or a day per constituency,” Sonko noted.
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