Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni on Monday, January 27, lifted the lid on the real reason behind the meeting between President William Ruto and former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Dubbed the Ichaweri Summit, Kioni clarified that the meeting was born out of Uhuru’s initiative to restore faith in Kenya’s economic capacity occasioned by the rapid exit of many international firms from the Kenyan stock market.
“One of the things that my party leader (Uhuru Kenyatta) told me why he sat with William at Ichaweri, was to try and see whether there could be an injection of hope that could go into the market so that the exodus of companies to Tanzania and Uganda gets slowed down for the sake of young people so that we see whether we can generate employment,” Kioni stated.
“The number of companies exiting the stock market in this country is even worrying to the international community. The number of firms that are being closed on a daily basis is also scary. And why would that happen? Investors want confidence. Confidence that things are going to be better and to have hope,” he added.
While appearing on Capital FM’s mid-morning show, Kioni claimed that Uhuru had not entered into any pact with Ruto contrary to popular belief. The senior Jubilee official opined that the meeting was just consultative in nature as is standard practice between current and former heads of state.
“No he (Uhuru) is not (in any pact with Ruto), but he is the former head of state. If you want advice, you can go and see him. If I want advice on how to run the party, I can go and see him,” he stated.
Kioni added that the proceeding actions by Ruto and members of the Kenya Kwanza camp to claim that Uhuru had been co-opted into government through a ‘super broad-based government’ was all a ploy to fool the public.
“Of course, people like Ruto and his camp would want to milk that meeting to make it look more than what it really was,” Kioni noted.
The Ichaweri Summit on Monday, December 9, attracted significant public attention with many pointing towards another political ‘handshake’ on the horizon.
The narrative was further solidified after three leaders allied to Uhuru were appointed as Cabinet Secretaries in the aftermath of the high-level meeting. Mutahi Kagwe, Lee Kinyanjui and William Kabogo were appointed as CSs for Agriculture, Trade and ICT respectively.
Their appointments came after leaders allied to Raila Odinga were co-opted into the broad-based government in the aftermath of the July-August Gen Z protests. Treasury CS John Mbadi, Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi and Cooperatives CS Wycliffe Oparanya were the biggest beneficiaries.
The political landscape in the country is currently at a fever pitch with just two years left in the lead-up to the 2027 General Elections. Many observers point towards a bruising battle as the pre-election anxiety builds.
