Is Uhuru and Raila genuine with the hanshake?
President Uhuru Kenyatta has made it clear that his handshake with NASA leader Raila Odinga has nothing to do with 2022 succession politics and further said that he will not be diverted from the Handshake and Building Bridges Initiative.
Speaking in State House, Mombasa ,the President said that he believes in the initiative if Kenya has to move on and achieve its dreams as a nation.
“I really believe I have a partner in Raila who believes in the agenda,” he said.
We sat with my brother @RailaOdinga and agreed we must engage to find out what is ailing our country. We agreed corruption is an issue, as well as issues of exclusion in governance amongst others. However we must begin by reaching out to Kenyans for lasting solutions~ @UKenyatta
— State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) December 28, 2018
Politicians allied to Deputy President William Ruto and some from the opposition have treated the Handshake like a ploy to curtail his bid for the top seat.
But the President dismissed those engaging in 2022 election politics, insisting that he had “never talked about 2022 elections with Raila even for a day”.
Highlighting circumstances of the electoral upheavals last year, the President explained that in the wake of the swearing-in of Raila as the peoples’ President in January, it dawned on him that it was “probably time to reach out to one another and talk.”
Uhuru noted it was time to confront the tribal suspicions and tensions that rock the country every electoral cycle.
“These [tensions and upheavals during elections] started from as early as 1992 and has prevailed every electoral cycle,” he said.
“It picked up during and after the clamour for multipartyism in the country and since then our politics has been personalised and involved bloodshed.”
Uhuru said that though he differed with ODM leader Raila Odinga politically at the time, he found that “we actually agree on many things.”
“For example, we agreed that corruption is a serious challenge that need to be confronted,” Uhuru said, adding that their agreement has provided the needed political synergy and goodwill in curbing graft.
If you look at Kenya, we were ahead of other countries in the 60s, but we lost it because of our politics. Every five years our country comes to a standstill, and we start over ~ President @UKenyatta #BuildingBridgesInitiative#PresidentRoundtableKe
— State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) December 28, 2018
“We also agreed that we need to look at our electoral system that makes some people feel excluded after every cycle.”
Asked whether they had agreed on a referendum that would change the country’s governance structure, he said that their discussions looked at issues that affect the society and how they can be solved for posterity.