Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya coalition party has confirmed it has sanctioned a meeting between its leader Raila Odinga and President William Ruto.
This follows concerted pressure from various quarters, especially the clerics, calling for a meeting between the two political antagonists in order to reduce the rising tension in the country.
The opposition says their hope was that the initial meeting would lay the groundwork for honest talks over the issues they have put forward.
Raila-Ruto meeting
“In that spirit, we sanctioned a meeting between our leadership and that of Kenya Kwanza, under the facilitation of Olusegun Obasanjo. This initial meeting was to prepare the ground for honest discussions of the issues we have been raising and those that Kenya Kwanza feels like raising. The meeting was therefore a talk about envisaged talks,” Azimio co-principal Peter Munya said.
“We take this early opportunity to thank Obasanjo for offering himself as the senior son of Africa and a global diplomat to oversee a peaceful resolution to the crisis here.”
Suluhu’s presence
While confirming its sanction on the Ruto-Raila meeting, Azimio claimed there is dishonesty on the part of Kenya Kwanza. Initially, the opposition outfit had said Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu had come to meditate between Ruto and Raila, a claim denied by the ruling coalition.
“We take note that Kenya Kwanza is trying to deny Obasanjo’s presence and leadership of the talks. That would be a very unfortunate development indeed. It points to Kenya Kwanza now institutionalizing the culture of deceit and taking it to the global stage,” Azimio added.
“They denied the presence of President Suluhu here a few weeks ago, and now they want to deny the presence of Obasanjo. While we remain committed to dialogue with Kenya Kwanza for a speedy and sustainable resolution to the country’s problems, our issues haven’t changed.”
Meanwhile, Azimio has listed what they want to discuss should talks between the two political rivals begin again. On top of their demands is the talk around the rising cost of living, which has been their rallying cry against the Kenya Kwanza government.
