Opposition Chief Raila Odinga has divulged further details about his closed-door meeting with President Uhuru and revealed why other top leaders were left out.
Odinga said DP William Ruto, his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka were left of the March 9 handshake because of their 2022 presidential ambitions.
He said he reached an agreement with Uhuru that they should not involve either of them in their initial meeting because their agenda was weighty. They did not want it to be derailed by other interests, he said.
“Uhuru told me not to bring Kalonzo along into our first meeting since Ruto wasn’t attending either,” said Raila.
The NASA leader further revealed that before the meeting, he told Uhuru he was not interested in Jubilee’s Big Four agenda.
“My concern was not Uhuru’s Big Four agenda. I had my own five irreducible minimums, which I wanted to be laid on the table. We agreed on that prior to the meeting,” said Raila.
He was speaking as the chief guest during the opening of the newly constructed Kitui Villa Hotel, owned by fierce Jubilee critic Prof Makau Mutua.
Raila explained that Uhuru invited him for a reconciliation meeting after the country almost became ungovernable following his swearing in as the People’s President at Uhuru Park on January 30.
“I was not afraid of being arrested because of the oath. Uhuru was in problem. He sent emissaries to ask me for a meeting. Since then the country has been a path of healing,” said Raila as quoted by the Star.
