It has now been revealed that President William Ruto persuaded opposition leader Raila Odinga to call off today’s anti-government protests in the spirit of patriotism.
According to sources close to Raila, the visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Kenya today, as well as the presence of United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the ongoing summit in Gigiri, Nairobi, forced the leaders to reach a compromise.
According to the leaders, Ruto extended an olive branch to Raila, agreeing to engage on the opposition’s demands, which resulted in the quick replacement of Eldas MP (Jubilee) Adan Keynan with UDA’s Saku MP Dido Raso.
“The president reached out and pleaded with our party leader to call off the planned Thursday (today) protests, saying it will portray the country’s image in negative light as foreign dignitaries visit,” said a close ally of Raila.
Ruto is said to have called Raila and agreed to come to the table to discuss the issues raised, just days after claiming the Azimio protests were a ruse to get into government through the back door.
“The Kenya Kwanza leadership has reached out on the spirit of patriotism to give dialogue a chance and replaced Keynan with Raso. We consulted and agreed to reciprocate by suspending the demonstrations,” discussed Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition National Executive Council chairman Wycliffe Oparanya.
“These people have conceded to the Azimio demands, among them removing Keynan. Despite their bravado positions in the past, the change of heart has been necessitated by the visits by global leaders. They are giving a reason that the German chancellor is coming today and the UN meeting is on,” said Azimio official who sought anonymity.
Another Azimio official added, “The Kenya Kwanza leaders argue that as Kenyan patriots, if we do it (protests) when they are around, it can reflect on us very badly. The Azimio leaders decided to reconsider their turf position.”
In essence, the latest development shows that President Ruto has softened his hardline stances after telling the opposition that he was unwilling to engage them outside of the parliamentary bipartisan talks.
Members of the Azimio bipartisan committee, led by co-chair Otiende Amollo, are meeting this morning to discuss and respond to the Kenya Kwanza changes.
“Our position was that the Kenya Kwanza side must replace Keynan before we proceed with the talks. We are meeting in light of the developments and will give direction on the same,” said Otiende.
