Raila Says His Handshake with President Kenyatta is Being Sabotaged

Opposition leader Raila Odinga says that the famous March 9th handshake between him and President Uhuru Kenyatta is facing threats from selfish politicians and perpetrators of historical injustices.

Speaking when he delivered a lecture at Cambridge University in London on Tuesday, Odinga said the unity pact risks collapsing after individuals behind historical injustices teamed up to sabotage the deal.

Raila however stated that President Kenyatta and himself will put efforts that will ensure that the unity initiative becomes a success.

“It is our hope that the handshake could inspire other African nations struggling with problems similar to those of Kenya,” he said.

He maintained that the Building the Bridges Initiative has nothing to do with 2022 succession politics. "We agreed that we have to make these changes if we are to have a nation. We are not in any way deluded that these changes will come easy," he said.

"There will be opposition and resistance because the issues we want to tackle go to the core of how Kenya has been run over the past five decades."

“We came to the conclusion that our diversity appeared destined to be a curse to ourselves today and to our children tomorrow, unless we confront them,” he said.

Raila left the country on Sunday for a week-long visit to the United Kingdom.