President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga visited president Museveni of Uganda and had conversations about Odinga as AU chairperson.
A surprise visit by President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday has left Kenyans guessing whether the duo are working on a possible ‘handshake’ or President Ruto’s smart move to get Odinga out of the country.
‘Handshake’ refers to the pact between Mr Odinga and Mr Kenyatta, which ended weeks of violent protests following the disputed 2017 presidential election.
President Ruto on Monday announced on his X handle about their meeting with Mr Odinga to his Ugandan counterpart in the neighbouring country, catching Kenyans and political players by surprise.
“Kenya and Uganda are committed to the deepening of the long-established diplomatic and economic ties between our two countries. This relationship includes bringing all the seven East African Community nations closer in their ultimate goal to form the East African Political Federation,” President Ruto wrote.
“…also discussed was the declared candidacy of Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga for the Africa Union Commission chairmanship.” he added.
Moments later, President Museveni also made the announcement, confirming the meeting.
“I was happy to meet President Ruto and Rt. Hon. Odinga at my farm in Kisozi this afternoon. We discussed issues of mutual interest between our two countries. I welcome them,” the Ugandan president wrote.
The surprise meeting between President Ruto and Mr Odinga comes barely a week after Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Dr Korir Sing’oei revealed that President Ruto was planning to unveil Mr Odinga’s candidature for the AUC post this week.
In April 2023, President William Ruto said a ‘handshake’ deal with the country’s opposition led by Mr Raila Odinga was off the table.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Rwandan host Paul Kagame, President Ruto said he was offering an environment for the opposition to check his government “without throwing stone”.
“As president, I owe it to the people of Kenya to provide leadership,” he said in Kigali, while responding to a journalist’s question on whether he will have a handshake with Mr Odinga.
“I want to tell you, there will be no handshake. But there will be an engagement in parliament on the issues that have been raised in parliament.” President Ruto said.
In Kenya, ‘handshake’ means a loose coalition arrangement between the government and the opposition. Mr Odinga had such an arrangement with Dr Ruto’s predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta, something that Ruto, who was the deputy president then, says undermined development.
