Jubilee Party legislators allied to Deputy President William Ruto have accused National Super Alliance (NASA) leader Raila Odinga of plotting on how to destroy Jubilee under the guise of his handshake with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Led by Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, they claimed that Raila harboured resentment towards Ruto and would use the handshake to frustrate his bid for the Presidency.
"There is no doubt that he sees William Ruto as his competitor, and that is why he is disdainful of the DP and his lieutenants.
"He is trying to be cosy with the President at the same time he is hostile to the DP. His is the perfect example of divisive politics," Murkomen who Majority leader in the Senate explained.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, on the other hand, maintained that recent proposals by Raila to ammend the constitution were meant to either block or weaken a potential Ruto presidency.
[caption caption="NASA leader Raila Odinga"]
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“They know Ruto is going to be president, and now they want to sneak in a referendum to block his way by introducing the post of a prime minister selected by a few people and not by a majority of Kenyans through universal suffrage,” he stated.
Raila has been pushing for a 3-tier system of government and a move away from the Presidential system that currently accords the President a lot of powers.
According to Raila, the changes offer a chance to take the animosity and chaos out of Kenyan elections.
“Without the changes we envisage in the MoU, 2022 will be messy, It will come with the same confusion, heartbreaks and, possibly, chaos. We are trying to forestall such eventualities,” he explained at an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) retreat in Gilgil on Tuesday.
Parliament Majority Leader Aden Duale, who is also a close ally of Ruto, recently declared that the handshake was already dead because they were opposed to the oppositiuon chief's proposals.
“There is no handshake any more,we do not want a referendum but they want one, so we can’t go to bed together. We also cannot agree to another level of devolution. It is expensive!” he stated in Parliament.
[caption caption="DP William Ruto"]
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