Raila and I was so close – The Standard”/>
After a historic ceasefire known as “The Handshake,” former political foes Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga shook Kenya’s airwaves on March 9, 2018.
The Handshake came amid political unrest in the nation as a result of the 2017 General Election, in which Raila disapproved of the final presidential results that put him after Kenyatta.
As a result, when Raila was sworn in as the People’s President in Uhuru Park in Nairobi on January 30, 2018, he did so without taking a formal oath.
Raila hinted that the Handshake came about after a 19-hour discussion with his rival and that it “was not easy” when the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) was introduced.
“When we met with Mr Odinga we took tea for almost 45 minutes without having any discussion. All we could ask each other is how is home… how is your wife… how are the kids? There was nothing else we could talk about because of the anger from the insults we had been hurling at each other,” Uhuru shared.
William Ruto, Kenyatta’s deputy, said that he was shut out and was later excluded from the cabinet while the two men put their differences behind them.
Later, the former president would endorse Raila in the general election of August 2022 and actively campaign for him, although William Ruto ended up winning.
A Handshake between Raila and Ruto is being discussed as the Handshake celebrates its fifth anniversary.
Kenya Kwanza has characterized the Azimio leader’s insistence that he does not recognize Ruto as president as a ploy to pressure the president into shaking hands with Raila.
“Last time, he organized such protests till he gained access to William Ruto and President Kenyatta’s administration. Once Raila stated that he would be staging nationwide rallies, the deputy president Rigathi Gachagua said, “Uhuru caved into his threats and let him into his handshake government and he shattered it.
President Ruto, for his part, has insisted that he will not shake hands with Raila and that he “should reclaim his due role as the opposition leader.”
“My friends, forget about shaking hands and don’t say you don’t want to since we can see you and recognize you. In January 2023, Ruto informed the opposition, “We know your everyday antics.
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