Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his hitherto political nemesis Raila Amollo Odinga have agree to work together in a bid to foster national unity.
The two fell out after elections last year, which Mr. Odinga claimed he had won, and even held a contentious ‘swearing – in ceremony’ that led to unrest, and also the ‘deportation’ of controversial politician Miguna Miguna to Canada.
However, today Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila agreed on a way forward after zeroing in on a nine-point implementation programme to be coordinated by Ambassador Martin Kimani and Paul Mwangi.
Among the issues of importance singled out by the two leaders is security; corruption; devolution; divisive elections; inclusivity and lack of national ethos. Others are shared prosperity and rights.
‘H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta and H.E. Raila Odinga have agreed to roll out a programme that will implement their shared objectives. The programme shall establish an office and retain a retinue of advisors to assist in this implementation. They have mandated both Ambassador Martin Kimani and Mr. Paul Mwangi to oversee the establishment of this programme. An official launch shall be held soon,’ a statement, ‘Building bridges to a new Kenyan Nation’ released after the two leaders’ meeting at State House, Nairobi, indicates in part.
Over the past year Kenya has been mired in controversy following the August 8 elections, which were disputed by Raila, who even lodged a petition in the Supreme Court challenging Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory.
The Supreme Court nullified the election and ordered a re-election but Raila opted out of the process. Subsequently, Raila ‘swore-in’ and a stalemate has been obtaining till today when the two leaders met and agreed on a way forward.
