The Central Organization of Trade Union (COTU) boss Francis Atwoli on Sunday, April 2, admonished leaders and organisations calling for a truce between President William Ruto and Azimio Leader Raila Odinga.
The Trade Union Secretary General while speaking during a Shop Stewards Preparatory Meeting held in Nairobi announced that such a directive could only come from him.
His reasoning was that he was the force behind Azimio’s formation and he was best placed to call for a dialogue.
“I was at the forefront in forming Azimio and I have not indicated that people should have a dialogue,” Atwoli remarked.
He further wondered why people were calling for a handshake between the two leaders, “Those people are above 18, how do you now ask them to meet?”.
On why he had previously worked with Raila, Atwoli held that he was sent by COTU and as a union representative he had no power to disagree with the workers’ choice.
“At Azimio, we had everything at our arsenal plus the willpower and intention to win the presidency.
“We even isolated Ruto and forced him to the opposition,” Atwoli revealed intrigues heading to the August 9, 2022, general election.
Atwoli in a veiled attack on former President Uhuru Kenyatta remarked that Ruto outsmarted his boss.
“Uhuru was the chairman as well as president, but then Ruto outsmarted us as if we were sleeping,” Atwoli remarked.
On the ongoing demonstrations by Azimio, Atwoli vowed that Kenyan workers would not participate in any protests.
“Most of our members are casuals and depend on daily wages so we cannot afford to go on demonstrations.
“Furthermore, we told Ruto of our agenda and he gave us all that we asked for. Why would we then demonstrate? Atwoli posed.
Atwoli's remarks came at a time when the international community and regional leaders urged Raila and Ruto to dialogue and end the biweekly protests.
On Tuesday, March 28, the African Union (AU) in a statement called for calm and urged all stakeholders to engage in dialogue to address differences between political players in the supreme interest of national unity and reconciliation.
Foreign embassies based in Nairobi on Wednesday, March 29, also called for a dialogue.
“As friends and partners to Kenya, we are deeply concerned by the recent unrest and violence as well as the destruction of places of worship and property.
“We, therefore, call on all leaders and all Kenyans to maintain peace, show restraint and work towards a swift resolution for the common good of Kenya,” a joint statement from Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
