Azimio leader Raila Odinga has claimed that Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu was frustrated in her efforts to mediate between him and President William Ruto.
Speaking with local and international journalists on Tuesday, July 25, Raila claimed that Ruto extended an invitation to Suluhu to Kenya to help facilitate a truce between conflicting parties.
However, as per Raila's account, Suluhu was kept waiting for a few days by the Kenya Kwanza faction without adequate explanation which forced her to return to Tanzania.
"She attempted to mediate but she was kept waiting for days by the other side. Our side was ready and available for talks but the State refused to respond," Raila told journalists.
The opposition, he claimed, was open to meeting Suluhu and other peace envoys.
Last week, Suluhu was spotted at Maasai Mara National Reserve, where she allegedly met a number of high-ranking politicians from the Azimio la Umoja coalition.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party Leader claimed that Ruto had treated his Tanzanian counterpart with contempt, a situation that might strain relations between the two East African countries.
“We are not interested in being a part of the problems in government, we don’t want to eat their bread, all we want is for Kenyans get to put food on the table," Raila stated.
When pushed to explain why he had rejected dialogue as a means to end the political impasse yet the method has previously yielded an amicable solution, Raila claimed that Ruto had been frustrating the bipartisan talks which had left Azimio with no option but to take to the streets.
“We have always been open to dialogue, but we don’t want nusu mkate (euphemism for a coalition government). Our focus is the fact that our people are suffering due high cost of living. That cannot be ignored," Raila claimed.
Raila, however, acknowledged that the country's economy was facing uncertain times, and warned things could even get worse as a result of wrong policies put in place by Ruto's administration.
“The economy is hurting, not because of demonstrations but because of the bad policies by Kenya Kwanza… they don’t care about the common people. Azimio would have handled situations in the country differently to the satisfaction of Kenyans," Raila acknowledged.
