A delegation from the US, led by Delaware Senator, Chris Coons, turned to former President Uhuru Kenyatta, on Thursday, March 30, after former Prime Minister Raila Odinga declined to give up his stance on anti-government protests.
According to insiders, the team scheduled a meeting with the former Head of State. However, details of the meeting were yet to be made public.
While meeting Raila, the US delegation was said to have expressed reservations about protests affecting the economy. However, they maintained that the opposition had a right to picket and demonstrate against the government.
Biden’s administration reportedly asked to halt the demonstrations as a sign of goodwill during the Wednesday, March 31 meeting.
The former Prime Minister declined the calls even as Azimio presented four non-negotiable issues that needed addressing.
Some issues centred around the high cost of living, the opening of the election servers and the recruitment of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials.
Azimio also expressed concerns that the international community was silent despite the government contravening the constitution numerous times.
“Their silence is deafening, and I would say that what concerns us most is not what our enemies do or say but the silence of our friends.
“We are very concerned about what appears to us to be complicity with the Ruto regime,” Prof Makau Mutua stated.
Azimio also warned the US against supporting what they argued was a dictatorial government. Raila further advocated for the review of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), arguing that it was rejected on technicalities.
“It was not that BBI was irrelevant. It was just because of a technicality problem. That needs to be brought back to the table,” the former Prime Minister added in a subsequent presser in Karen, on Thursday, March 30, after conducting a series of protests in Nairobi.
Coons, successful in engineering the handshake between Raila and Uhuru in 2018, met with Gachagua hours before his sit down with Raila. At the meeting, Gachagua maintained that they would not negotiate over Raila’s entry into the government.
The DP reiterated his stand while speaking in Mombasa on Thursday, March 30.
“Raila you have been unfair to the people of Kenya, and we want to invite you for a meeting with President William Ruto to discuss your exit from Kenya’s political space,” he stated.
Raila Rejects Biden’s Request, Now US Turns To Uhuru
