Azimio Leader Raila Odinga has responded to President William Ruto’s call for a truce by warning that the Head of State could not be trusted.
Raila wondered why the Head of State chose to extend the invitation through social media channels rather than formal channels while speaking to Al Jazeera at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation.
“The President is not being serious. If he wanted to meet with me he would not have sent an invite through social media.Â
“He knows my address and telephone number and everything. He is basically just playing games. That is like his public relations exercise,” the former prime minister remarked during the interview.
The Azimio leader reiterated his earlier claims that Ruto ignored his Tanzanian counterpart Samia Suluhu, despite the fact that she was invited to Kenya by the government.
“I mentioned yesterday that two weeks ago, the President of Tanzania Suluhu Hassan, came here to Kenya at his invitation and she spent two days here wishing to bring us together,” he stated noting that Suluhu was intending to mediate between the two leaders.
Raila revealed that after Suluhu arrived in Kenya, she was humiliated by the President’s refusal to meet with her.
While accusing Ruto of not being sincere, Raila stated that his willingness to engage in dialogue was demonstrated by his appointment of members to participate in the parliamentary bipartisan talks.
According to Raila, the President refused to participate in the talks after observing that the country was peaceful as a result of the opposition calling off nationwide protests.
Raila revealed that the opposition’s protests were intended to shake Ruto out of his denial that the country was in an economic crisis. He vehemently denied wanting a piece of the government.
On Tuesday, July 25, President Ruto stated that he was willing to meet with Raila one-on-one to end the current political impasse.
Raila was noncommittal in the interview when asked if he would accept the invitation. Raila previously stated that he would continue to engage in civil disobedience.
