Azimio Leader Raila Odinga on Wednesday, July 26, revealed that President William Ruto turned down his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa's offer to mediate.
In an interview with AFP, Raila stated that the South African President offered to end the political impasse in the country but Ruto turned the offer down.
Raila remarked that this happened after Ruto had reportedly refused to meet Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu who arrived in the country under an invitation from the government.
The former prime minister further stated that he was not going to accept Ruto’s invite for one-on-one talks unless there was a mediator.
"I insist there must be somebody between us. President Ramaphosa wants to come but he has refused. President Suluhu is there. There must be an intermediary between us. Even if it is a former president," Raila told AFP.
The Azimio leader did not disclose if he was the one who had reached out to Ramaphosa or if it was a personal initiative from the South African leader.
State House spokesperson Hussein Mohammed on Wednesday, July 26, could not deny nor confirm that Suluhu visited the country.
He stated that the matter could only be addressed by the Foreign Affairs Ministry or Raila himself.
The government has not released a statement on Ramaphosa’s willingness to chair negotiations between Raila and Ruto.
On why there must be a mediator in the talks, Raila claimed that he can not trust the Head of State.
In an earlier interview, Raila had complained of Ruto’s insincerity noting that an invite for negotiations should not have been made through social media channels.
Raila was speaking of a social media post by the President made on Tuesday, July 25, that invited him for talks.
