Former Nyeri Town Member of Parliament (MP) Nginjiri Wambugu on Sunday, April 9, claimed a handshake between President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga was distasteful to the people of the Mount Kenya region.
Wambugu explained that the region held the belief that election losers should concede and wait for another time irrespective of the manner in which they lost the polls.
He argued that a handshake in whatever form would reopen fresh wounds of what happened in the grand coalition government and in 2018.
"For Raila it is even worse because he forced two favorite sons of Mt Kenya into a political handshake after they beat him in an election where the whole region turned up!
"This is why we think Raila is a sore loser and where our political distance from him comes from," Wambugu declared.
He defended Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua from allegations of being a hardliner in the brokering of a truce, noting that he was aware of the concerns of the people from the region.
"Gachagua understands that the President is the symbol of National Unity, not the DP. He also understands remembers that he is DP because of one man’s vote; that is the person he needs to add value to," the former lawmaker explained.
A close ally of retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, Wambugu pointed out that the absence of representatives from the region in Azimio's team to engage in bi-partisan talks with Kenya Kwanza was a major concern.
He stated that it was sad that Jubilee, despite being the third-largest party in the country, was left out of a critical national conversation.
However, he warned President Ruto to be wary of whatever action he took since he himself proved that a sitting government can be defeated in an election despite having the so-called deep state.
Wambugu's sentiments came a week after Ruto and Raila agreed to hold bi-partisan talks to address some of the issues raised by the opposition in a bid to end the current political stalemate.
Raila called off the mass protests and made counter-offers to Ruto. The opposition chief also named a team of seven members to represent the coalition party in the talks.
President Ruto's faction is set to unveil its team on Tuesday, April 11 during Kenya Kwanza's Parliamentary Group meeting, before the talks kicks off.
