The Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga handshake seems to have rubbed off on Kirinyaga County Governor, Anne Waiguru who has today announced that she has withdrawn her defamation case against former Prime Minister now AU High Representative for Infrastructure, Raila Odinga.
Governor Waiguru made the announcement through her official Twitter account saying that her decision to drop the case against Raila was based on the spirit of cohesion and reconciliation in the country.
Just had a meeting with former Prime Minister H.E Right Honorable @RailaOdinga on the outstanding matter in court.
In the spirit of cohesion and reconciliation in the country, the matter stands settled. pic.twitter.com/m8481UUtDh
— Anne Waiguru (@AnneWaiguru) November 14, 2018
Raila Odinga also made the announcement backing up Waiguru’s resolve.
Held a meeting with Governor @AnneWaiguru and agreed to “let by-gones be by-gones” and leave the matter of the NYS scandal in the hands of investigators. She said her case against me is now settled in the spirit of reconciliation that the nation has embarked on. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/D56SP2qcLX
— Raila Odinga (@RailaOdinga) November 14, 2018
“Held a meeting with Governor @AnneWaiguru and agreed to “let by-gones be by-gones” and leave the matter of the NYS scandal in the hands of investigators. She said her case against me is now settled in the spirit of reconciliation that the nation has embarked on,” he tweeted.
Raila also added that they reviewed the status of devolution in the country in the meeting and agreed to frequently exchange views on how to address the challenges.
The row between Raila and Waiguru began in 2015 after the ODM leader demanded the governor’s prosecution for graft at National Youth Service (NYS).
In the defamation lawsuit, the former CS for Devolution accused Odinga of dragging her name into the NYS graft scandal that involved disappearance of KSH. 791 million. Waiguru sued Raila on September 29, 2015 for recklessly tarnishing her name.
Raila Odinga had sought the court demanding for Waiguru to be subjected to a lifestyle audit. Raila had requested that the hearing be stopped until he filed an appeal challenging a ruling issued last November but Waiguru wanted the High Court to proceed with the case against Raila.
The Court however made a ruling that allowed the governor to conceal certain information regarding her lifestyle. Raila on the other hand, released a dossier claiming President Uhuru Kenyatta had failed to include Waiguru’s name on his list of corrupt State officers that saw a number of cabinet secretaries lose their jobs.
Do you think the handshake between the two leaders is authentic or is it just the usual PR?