National Assembly Majority leader Kimani Ichung'wah, claims that the meeting between President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga on Sunday is not intended to result in a handshake like the one that Raila Odinga and previous President Uhuru Kenyatta struck in 2018.
The political "handshake" settlement between Kenyatta and Odinga on March 9 put an end to weeks of political violence and instability surrounding the 2017 General Election.
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Odinga announced on Sunday that he is open to discussion to resolve the major disagreements the opposition has with Ruto's administration. He had been holding biweekly anti-government demonstrations for the previous two weeks.
It came after President Ruto had previously urged Odinga to put an end to the demonstrations and instead think about engaging in negotiations for the nomination of commissioners to the Independent Election and Boundaries Commission through a bipartisan parliamentary procedure (IEBC).
The creation of a new electoral body is one of the topics brought up by the opposition with President Ruto's administration.
However, according to the majority leader, this should not be interpreted as the formation of a new “handshake.” Ichung’wah told journalists on Monday that Ruto has yet to speak with Odinga, and that their planned dialogue will be solely for “the interests of the country.”
“I can confirm that the president has not even met Raila Odinga. He has not even spoken to him, leave alone a handshake. There is nothing touching on a handshake,” the Kikuyu MP said.
The MP added that the bipartisan approach looks at the interests of the country above the partisan interests of Kenya Kwanza or Azimio.
President Ruto met with Ichung’wah and other parliamentary leaders on Monday to establish a framework for the bipartisan parliamentary process.
When the discussions began on Sunday, Odinga set down a number of requirements for Ruto's administration to fulfill, including the unconditional release of all individuals charged with supporting the opposition in connection with the protests.
Handshake and fists:
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) March 10, 2021
“There are things that I do not have two positions about; on BBI I do not have two positions. In parliament if you go to a referendum, in the referendum I will vote no, I will not vote for it…” - Kimani Ichungwa #JKLive pic.twitter.com/ZviWrgADgs
The four IEBC commissioners who were dismissed for contesting the outcome of the 2022 General Election, in which William Ruto was declared the winner, were also urged to be reinstated by the coalition.
Furthermore, the opposition stated that addressing the high cost of living is an unavoidable minimum, and urged the government to return to the subsidies used by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime to protect Kenyans from the high cost of living.
Noordin Haji, the Director of Public Prosecutions, has since withdrawn protest-related charges against six Azimio coalition leaders.
Odinga said he was ready to begin talks with the President on Monday, but threatened to resume protests if “no meaningful outcome” was reached within a week.
