The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has praised President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga for agreeing to hold talks and discuss the opposition’s grievances with the government.
In a statement issued on Monday, NCIC chairperson Samuel Kobia described the two politicians’ decision as an example of “statesmanship and insightful leadership.”
“We commend the Rt. Hon Raila Amolo Odinga for accepting the olive branch and calling off scheduled demonstrations. The two leaders have demonstrated statesmanship and deserve support for the courageous steps they have taken towards resolving all issues at the table through dialogue,” Kobia said.
As a result, Kobia stated that the NCIC will hold a series of national conversations in Kenya on economic prosperity, political stability, and social cohesion.
“These conversations shall target Kenyans from all walks of life to deliberate on the critical issues affecting the lives of ordinary wananchi and the middle class as well,” he said.
According to Kobia, the recommendations from the forums, “will contribute to, and enrich ideas and practical activities of the new trajectory evolving from the dialogue initiative.”
This comes after the NCIC last week condemned Odinga’s demonstrations.
Kobia expressed concern that the demonstrations were creating tension across the country, saying “We are worried that such acts will escalate into tensions across ethnic lines and also hate speech.”
He called for an immediate stop to the demonstrations and urged Ruto and Odinga to sit and iron out their issues.
“We call for dialogue; this option is available and we advocate for this. We can’t solve issues by shouting at each other. We call on political divides to come and dialogue and put the interest of the Kenyans first,” he said last Tuesday.
