Raila reveals new deal with Magufuli after August elections

dennis kibet

July 29, 2017 10:11 AM

Raila revealed what will happen between Kenya and Tanzania once he becomes President.

NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga has revealed new deal with Tanzania once he is elected president after the August elections.

Raila said his close relations with Tanzanian President John Magufuli will ensure easier movement across the Kenya-Tanzania border once he ascends to power.

"President Magufuli is my friend; I will speak to him and ensure that this border is opened," Raila said.

He was addressing a NASA campaign rally at the Namanga border post in Kajiado County.

The NASA leader blamed the frosty relationship between the two East African nations on “insults hurled by people in Jubilee government”.

In March, Kenyans in Namanga held demonstrations against a deportation order against Tanzanian President John Magufuli.

The protesters claimed that President Magufuli had deported their counterparts and Tanzanian authorities were targeting Kenyans living in their country illegally.

The protesters blocked the busy Kenya-Tanzania border road at Namanga and stormed businesses owned by Tanzanians.

Most of the Tanzanians were rounded up and frog-marched across the border.

The Tanzanian government has also blocked nearly 20 companies including the Kenyatta family-owned Brookside Dairy from accessing the Tanzanian market.

The move comes despite on Sunday, the two countries signing a pact removing restrictions that had cost traders billions of shillings.

Earlier this week, the Tanzania Commission for Universities also blocked two Kenyan universities from admitting students.

The Jommo Kenyatta University for Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and Kenyatta University (KU) were prevented from admitting students in Arusha from September for failing to meet standards.

dennis kibet