NASA leader Raila Odinga has revealed that he had to strike a deal with President Uhuru Kenyatta since he did not want Deputy President William Ruto to be a party in the initial talks.
Speaking in Kitui on Wednesday, Raila revealed that he had to trade-in the omission of Kalonzo Musyoka from the handshake talks for the President to keep Ruto off the deal.
"I said I didn’t want to talk to those people who want to talk about 2022," Raila stated in an indirect reference to the DP's alleged early indulgement in 2022 succession politics.
[caption caption="Raila and Kalonzo during the opening of Kitui Villa"]
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"He (Uhuru) said he would not come with Ruto, but also asked that I don’t come with Kalonzo. We agreed that the initial talks were to be talks about talks," the NASA principal divulged.
Raila further indicated that he had planned to go all the way in challenging the legitimacy of Uhuru's government including pulling and burning down portraits of the Head of State and collecting revenue in NASA strongholds - a function that is a preserve of the National and County Governments.
On second thought, however, Raila indicated that he had "thought about it keenly and figured that we could easily head the Iraq way" pointing out to what appeared to be an imminent civil war following the election stalemate.
Kalonzo who was in attendance at the banquet hosted by law scholar Prof Makau Mutua during the opening of "Kitui Villa" hotel, steered away from the handshake politics despite Raila's revelation, only marvelling "oh what a day".
In a likely reference to his future political fortunes, Kalonzo cryptically quipped: "We will not take it easy anymore, not any more…"
Raila on his part praised the calling to a truce the perceived political antagonism between him and Uhuru adding that "The handshake has brought peace and stability in the country.
"Through the handshake, we have seen the government fully committed to the war on corruption," Raila concluded.
[caption caption="Raila, Kalonzo and other leaders addressing Kitui residents"]
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Raila has been critical of the DP, a former ally turned political adversary, having in the past criticized source of wealth his teams opposition to the lifestyle audit calls.
