New details have emerged about President Uhuru Kenyatta's meeting with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga at his home in Nyali on Monday, January 13, a day before the cabinet reshuffle.
According to a report by People Daily, the meeting was a walk away from the norm as it was speculated that Deputy President William Ruto might not have been informed about the impending changes to the executive.
Raila and the head of state are reported to have had the lengthy meeting before the former prime minister jetted to Arusha, Tanzania where he spent the night and returned to Kenya the next day.
The details of the meeting, however, remained a secret and it was not immediately verifiable that the cabinet reshuffle was part of their discussions.
“They met on Monday from 11 a.m. to early afternoon and no one was allowed in,” the publication quoted a source.
What raised eyebrows was the fact that less than 24 hours later, President Uhuru Kenyatta convened a public address in which he announced the reshuffle and sent Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri home.
DP Ruto, on the other hand, also had an interesting turn of events ahead of the address as sources confirmed to Kenyans.co.ke that the president flew to South Sudan for an undisclosed mission.
It was disclosed that the DP travelled with close aides and allies among them Abdul Mwasera and Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi.
A report by The Standard established that the DP returned into the country on Wednesday, January 15, at around midday.
His staff also downplayed claims that Ruto was not notified of the reshuffle beforehand arguing thaty the two were close friends.
“The leaders are close buddies and talk on a daily basis on a wide range of issues. How can I know what they talk about over the telephone? So how can you tell what they talked about before the reshuffle?” Ruto’s press secretary David Mugonyi stated.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, political analyst Herman Manyora, however, observed that Kenyans were reading so much into the situation and explained that President Uhuru Kenyatta was free to consult a person of his choice.
"Uhuru is the president and he can consult whoever he wishes to. He can consult Raila or Ruto or whoever. Besides, we do not know if he kept Ruto in the dark or consulted him before making the address," he stated.
Ruto and Uhuru were last seen in public together during the November, Building Bridges Initiative meeting at Bomas of Kenya.
