It has emerged that President Uhuru Kenyatta may have had a hand at the reconciliatory handshake between Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru and Raila Odinga.
According to The Standard, the meeting was a presidential directive and part of the Building Bridges Initiative.
Cabinet Secretary without Portfolio Raphael Tuju and Jubilee Party Vice Chairman David Murathe were tasked by State House with organising the meeting which resulted in the Governor withdrawing her defamation suit against Odinga.
Jubilee Party Vice Chairman David Murathe, during a past press conference
The two bitterly fell out in 2015 after Raila directly linked her to the loss of Kshs791 million at the National Youth Service (NYS) and demanded that she be held responsible.
A day after meeting Raila, she also met former Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama and Siaya Senator James Orengo at Milimani Law Courts for the withdrawal of a defamation case against Muthama and former Kakamega Senator Bonnie Khalwale for derogatorily associating her with the First Family.
In 2015, the president was forced to publicly deny rumours of a romantic relationship between the former Devolution CS and himself.
“There are those who keep on making wild allegations claiming that Waiguru is whatever to me or so many other things, but I have mine and I don’t need another one,” stated Uhuru during a stopover in Eldoret town.
Odinga has reconciled with many politicians but few elicited as much debate as his handshake with Waiguru.
Political pundits quickly linked the meeting to Uhuru succession politics claiming that she is among possible running mate of Deputy President William Ruto.
A close confidant of Governor Waiguru told reporters that 2022 was not on her mind at the moment.
