Questions were raised after President Uhuru Kenyatta was spotted alongside Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi when the head of state visited Garissa County.
On Friday, December 13, Kenyatta's choice to have Mudavadi accompany him was conspicuous, considering how the ANC leader has been a vocal critic of the handshake between Kenyatta and AU envoy Raila Odinga.
Mudavadi, in his autobiography, Soaring Above The Storms of Passion, alleged that the ODM leader was forced into the handshake by European nations who threatened to ban his visa.
The ANC leader had further claimed that Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, tricked him out of the State House race in 2013. He claimed that the two turned back on their promise to back him for the presidency.
However, Mudavadi and Kenyatta have history tracking back from 2002, when the ANC leader supported the head of state in his first stab at the top seat. Kenyatta lost overwhelmingly to retired President Mwai Kibaki.
"A cocktail of factors led to this decision on my part: from historical ties to Mzee Moi, through family pressures and assorted threats, intimidation and even persuasion," Mudavadi wrote in his book.
Kenyatta seemed to put the difference aside between the two. On November 26, after receiving the Building Bridges Initiative report at State House, Uhuru stated that he wanted to work with all Kenyans, including opposition leaders Raila Odinga, Mudavadi and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, who was appointed Kenya's Special Envoy to South Sudan.
Mudavadi also addressed the crowd during the BBI report launch at Bomas of Kenya on Wednesday, November 27.
Ruto on Saturday, September 7, called upon Mudavadi to form the government with him in 2002. A proposal Mudavadi rejected.
"Ruto’s proposition is cheeky and ridiculous and cannot sell. No serious Kenyan can buy into that gimmick,” the ANC leader responded.
Mudavadi went on to declare that he would run for the presidency in 2002.
