Raila Denies Making Overtures to Ruto

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga has rubbished claims that he tried to reach out to Deputy President William Ruto prior to his handshake with President Kenyatta in March 2018.

Speaking on Saturday during a Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) consultative forum in Mombasa, Odinga indicated that there is no way he could have tried to engage DP Ruto since he was not a presidential candidate.

“Look for you as who? There were only two candidates. You [Ruto] were not a candidate. If I was to look for anyone, that would be Uhuru. I did not reach for Uhuru. But that is the past,” said Odinga.

Odinga was responding to DP Ruto who made the claim during an interview with NTV on Thursday night. In a past interview, Ruto alleged that Odinga made a number overtures to him, both through phone and emissaries but he rejected the offers and informed the president about it.

“In fact on two occasions, we actually spoke on the phone when he (Odinga) sent some emissary and I could hear the trend, ‘Ooh you know…you can see the president has started appointing ministers.’ You remember when the President appointed the first six ministers and there was a bit of hullabaloo there,” said Ruto.

“I told him, my friend, you know, initially we were running a coalition, today we have a party, the president is the head of this party he does not have to consult me,” Ruto noted.