A day after reports that President Uhuru Kenyatta and Opposition leader Raila Odinga were due to receive honours from the British Parliament in UK, conflicting accounts have emerged from the two camps.
Organisers of the London Political Summit (LPS) had on Thursday announced that they would honour the duo for their political sportsmanship and adherence to the principle of political tolerance.
Notably, the Summit created a special award known as “Raila-Uhuru African Peace Accord Award” which will be given annually to any African leader who embraces peace, values democracy and exhibits a high level of political maturity and tolerance.
Being the inaugural year, Uhuru and Raila were slated to be the first recipients of the award as confirmed by the organizer, Gordon Azu.
However, according to the Nation, State House was not aware of the award with sources terming the news as 'fake.'
The publication added that the President's spokesperson Kanze Dena had no comment on the matter. Kenyans.co.ke tried to reach her but our calls went unanswered.
On the other hand, Raila's team confirmed receipt of the honours.
“I can confirm to you that Mr Odinga indeed received a notification of the award, and an invitation to receive it in London. But he has informed the organisers that he is held up,” Odinga’s spokesman, Mr Dennis Onyango, was quoted.
Another nominee in a different category, Josephine Odhiambo, stated that she had been directed to receive the award on behalf of the former Prime Minister.
“I spoke to Mr Odinga and when he realised I was coming to the LPS to receive a different award as part of the Black History Month, he asked me to receive this handshake award, and make remarks on his behalf,” Odhiambo who is a former deputy secretary-general of the Commonwealth stated.
Announcing the award that is part of their Black History Month, the organizer of the summit, Azu stated that the two were well deserving of the honours.
“These two great men have a long rich history behind them, as both their parents were the founding fathers of the Kenyan political and democratic history. It is a great privilege to identify with their latest leadership style which infers immense political maturity right now,” he conveyed.
