Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga is already drawing divergent views from different quarters hours after President William Ruto backed his candidacy for the African Union (AU) Commission chairperson role.
On Tuesday, February 27, Raila was in the spotlight after he met with Gender Cabinet Secretary Aisha Jumwa, who briefed him on the state of the two-thirds principle in government.
Addressing the media outside Raila's office at Capitol Hill Square in Nairobi, Jumwa further presented the Azimio party leader with a report on the two-thirds gender rule.
The CS also praised Raila for his contribution to advocating for the equality of women within the political scene.
"I met Raila to brief him on the progress of the two-thirds gender principle agenda because he is one of the leaders whom we trust in Kenya. We are happy because he gave us an opportunity," CS Jumwa stated.
While addressing the press, Raila reaffirmed his commitment to the two-thirds gender rule and pointed out that he would personally prioritise the matter with President William Ruto.
"This agenda dates back years and now women have broken barriers. We are here to ensure fairness for women on matters of development so that they have an equal voice with the men," Raila emphasised.
"We state that Kenya won't forge ahead without the involvement of women. I say that we need to follow the trajectory as seen in Germany or South Africa whereby they are elected under proportional representation," he added.
The former PM, moreover, insisted that the developments would be formalised through the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report which was presented to Ruto and Raila for discussion prior to adoption. NADCO is a bipartisan team formed by the duo in their efforts to seal a truce.
Observers were, however, quick to draw comparisons during the handshake era when officials in former President Uhuru Kenyatta's government regularly updated Raila on matters of development.
Raila-Jumwa's engagement follows the meeting between Ruto and the opposition leader in Uganda on Monday, February 26.
The duo was hosted by Uganda's Yoweri Museveni at his Kisozi home where they discussed on several issues including Raila's bid for the African Union Conmmission chairperson role. Raila, in his statement, revealed that both Ruto and Museveni backed his bid.
"I am very grateful to President Museveni for strongly endorsing my candidacy and to President Ruto for fully backing it. We took time out of our busy engagement to visit President Museveni’s wonderous cattle farm in Kisozi," Raila stated.
