President Uhuru Kenyatta and National Super Alliance (NASA) leader Raila Odinga have publicly reconciled and agreed to work together in the interest of Kenyans. They announced the burying of the hatchet after talks at Harambee House Nairobi.
The agenda of the surprise meeting was not disclosed. The Raila-led NASA had insisted on dialogue on electoral reforms as key to end the impasse between the government and the opposition.
NASA has been insisting that there is no turning back in the fight for electoral justice in Kenya. President Uhuru and his deputy William Ruto had dismissed calls for dialogue, urging NASA leaders to wait for the 2022 polls and that dialogue can only be on development.
But this has changed with today’s meeting. In January calls for President Uhuru to hold dialogue with Opposition leader Raila dominated discussions at a special session to deliberate on the Kenyan political situation at the European Parliament.
The majority of members of the EU Parliament asked the two top politicians to demonstrate leadership by engaging in talks aimed at bringing the country together after last year’s highly divisive General Election Contributing to the debate, Marietje Schaake, who was the chief observer for the European Union Election Observation Mission in Kenya during the August 8 elections and the repeat poll on October 26, said Kenyan leaders should work towards uniting the country.
“I call on Kenyan political leaders from both sides to show constructive leadership and rebuild trust. Integrity should be baked into the electoral system, regardless of who is in charge,” argued Ms Schaake. The US has also been pushing NASA to recognize President Uhuru’s government only to be rebuffed by the Opposition.
Early February Raila US Ambassador Robert Godec and 10 other envoys to keep off Kenyan affairs. Raila accused the envoys of failing to address electoral injustice and meddling in Kenya’s political affairs. “The envoys have no moral authority to lecture Kenyans on democracy and rule of law after aiding electoral theft in the August polls,” said Raila.
He added: “Stop the hypocrisy. We know you are just interested in trade so you can loot the country and stash the resources in your own countries. Kenya is an independent country and we will solve our problems our own way.”
The Standard
