In the next few days, the “handshake” will be one-year-old, and to cap its ramifications across the political spectrum, Uhuru and Raila unveiled the road to another referendum. Though Deputy President William Ruto who wants Uhuru to declare him -in the words of Senator James Orengo “ heir apparent” not the “presumptive heir”- was present, he oddly stood out because of his past opposition to it.
According to Uhuru, the healing process anchored by the “handshake” will culminate in constitutional changes which will open the door of the Executive to more Opposition leaders. To midwife the process is the amorphous body called the Building Bridges Initiative.
There are those opposed to this approach arguing that it would further strain the taxpayer but also ‘dilute’ Jubilee Party’s majority. But interestingly, even the likes of Ruto who initially rejected the referendum plan have embraced it with their own list of demands.
Yes, the “handshake” lowered political temperatures but it is
becoming apparent that it wasn’t the silver bullet to finish off Kenya’s
malady. Well, we must acknowledge that it has created a more predictable
environment to transact business and attract foreign investors. It has also
mitigated the gale of rising ethnic tensions (and most likely only for a short
time) and also allowed its warm embrace to cascade down the political tiers of
party and ethnicity.