Uhuru and Raila's next move revealed after Friday deal
Raila and Uhuru met last week Friday.
Reports indicate that the duo will start a nationwide tours especially in Nyanza region, a perceived NASA stronghold, which was the epicentre of the election violence that forced the IEBC to call off the rerun polls in the region’s 24 constituencies on October 26.
President Kenyatta has kept off huge public gatherings since the controversial rerun, amid legitimacy questions on his presidency.
“The plan is to visit all Raila strongholds as part of the cohesion efforts. They will also launch grand projects as part of the inclusivity that the two leaders have agreed upon,” a source familiar with the plans told a local daily.
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Some of the regions set to receive the two heads are Western, Lower Eastern and Coast. Western and Lower Eastern had a paltry voter turnout of 9 per cent each, while Coast had a turnout of 14 per cent.
“The Luo nation is part and parcel of Kenya. It has not suffered marginalization in isolation; many other regions and communities have similarly faced marginalization of one kind or another. These are some of the historical issues that we must strive to redress as we usher in the new dawn,” said Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi.
While he maintained that the president had all the liberty to tour any part of the country, the Star nn Monday reported that State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu could not confirm when Kenyatta would be heading to Nyanza.
Luo-Kikuyu elders meeting
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It has further emerged that the truce between the two could have been a precipitate meeting between the Luo and Kikuyu Community leaders, which is said to have softened the ground.
Apart from inclusivity, other issues identified to be addressed in the Raila-Uhuru deal are ethnic antagonism and competition, lack of a national ethos, divisive elections, devolution, safety and security, corruption, shared prosperity as well as respect for human and civil rights.
“We have a responsibility as leaders to be able to come together to discuss these issues and to find solutions that will bind our people, that will unify the country, that will give us a lifecycle that is beyond the five [election] years,” the President said on Friday.
Welcoming the deal on Saturday, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, a key Ruto ally, was emphatic that NASA still remains in the Opposition.
“Let us make sure that on matters of national interest, we speak and we read from the same page. But they [NASA] act as the Official Opposition, we [Jubilee] act as the ruling party,” Duale said.
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Meanwhile, the Opposition leader is said to be planning to miss a crucial Athi River meeting with other three principals who on Friday castigated Mr Odinga’s rushed plan to meet Uhuru in his Harambee House.
Contacted for a comment, ODM Director of Communication Mr Philip Etale said he was “not aware” of the plan by Mr Odinga missing the meeting.
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