National Super Alliance leader Raila Odinga on Thursday offered
to help Deputy President William Ruto ascend to the presidency in 2022.
In
remarks that will likely catch the political sphere by surprise, Mr
Odinga said Mr Ruto will need the Nasa boss’s influence if he wants to
become president.
“Does Ruto think he can be a President without Raila?” posed Mr Odinga in Kedowa, Kipkelion East.
“I can help him get there if he wants,” he added.
The
comments are out of character because Nasa and Mr Ruto’s party,
Jubilee, are bitter rivals in the struggle for power, and it was not
clear whether they were made in jest. Mr Odinga claims last year’s
elections were not free and fair and he plans to take the oath of office
as “the people’s president”.
CHAOS
He has also hinted that he would support his
running mate, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, for the same position. Nasa also has
other principals — Mr Musalia Mudavadi of ANC and and Mr Moses
Wetang’ula — all who are interested in the presidency.
Mr Odinga made the remarks during the burial of Orange Democratic Movement chairman for Kipkelion East William Koech.
The
former PM claimed that Mr Ruto’s dream of becoming President was only
possible if the Kalenjin worked with him just like they did in 2007. Mr
Ruto and Mr Odinga were allies in the election of that year which
descended into chaos in which about 1,000 people were killed and 600,000
displaced from their homes.
Mr Ruto
and President Uhuru Kenyatta were tried for crimes against humanity at
the International Criminal Court in connection with that violence but
the case against them collapsed.
According
to an agreement between the President and Mr Ruto, the DP supported the
President to serve for two terms and in exchange the President too
would back him in 2022.
JUBILEE AGENDA
Responding
to Mr Odinga’s remarks, the Deputy President’s spokesman David Mugonyi
said that Mr Ruto’s focus was on the delivery of Jubilee agenda.
“We
thought Raila had an agreement with Kalonzo Musyoka in 2022,” Mr
Mugonyi said. “For us, our concern right now is to deliver to Kenyans
and not 2022 politics.”
Mr Odinga was
accompanied by Central Organisation of Trade Union Secretary-General
Francis Atwoli and Suna East MP Junet Mohammed.
Mr Odinga also claimed that Mr Kenyatta knows that he did not win both the 2013 and 2017 elections.
“Uhuru
knows well that he did not beat me, and I am not a mad man not to know
when I have been beaten or not,” said the Nasa leader, adding that his
aim was to see all Kenyans united.
Mr
Mohammed laughed off the agreement between President Kenyatta’s support
base and that of his deputy that they would work together to make the
DP president in the next General Election.
DIALOGUE
“Such
agreements do not work in politics. It is in the history that Raila
supported President Mwai Kibaki in 2002 but the central Kenya people did
not keep their word,” said the MP.
Mr
Atwoli called on President Kenyatta to accept the call for dialogue
with Mr Odinga to prevent chaos that may break out with the swearing-in
of the latter on January 31.
“As a
unionist, I work with both opposition and government. I have written to
both asking them to accept dialogue on electoral problems. Raila
responded but Uhuru has kept silent on the matter,” said Mr Atwoli.“Who
are you not to accept dialogue?”
OATH PLAN
The trade unionist said workers, women and children would suffer most should anything happen during the planned oath-taking.
However,
Mr Mohammed said that peace goes hand in hand with justice, and that
since the government is unwilling to iron out issues of electoral
malpractices in three elections, they will go ahead and “swear in” Mr
Odinga as planned.
“We shall swear in
Raila next week and he will visit Kericho on his first meet-the-people
tour as the people’s president. You cannot threaten him with jail as he
has been there before,” he said.
Mr Koech, who died two weeks ago in a road accident, is known for his steadfast support of ODM.
He is survived by two wives and several children.
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