Ruto Says the Handshake Led to His Fallout with President Uhuru

Deputy President William Ruto says the handshake contributed to his fallout with President Kenyatta.

In an interview with the Voice of America (VOA) on Friday, Ruto admitted that President Kenyatta kept him abreast during the entire process that led to the famous handshake between him and ODM leader Raila Odinga.

Ruto, who is presently on a week-long tour of the US, claimed that the handshake quickly mutated into a plot to kill the opposition and amend the constitution, contrary to what the three leaders initially agreed.

“The handshake was formed to kill oversight of the government, we didn’t discuss that members of the ruling party would be jettisoned so that members of the opposition can occupy committees in parliament,” said Ruto  

He insisted that the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), whose main aim was to introduce changes to the 2010 constitution, was not part of the agreement between them.

“We didn’t agree that this was an exercise in changing the constitution and form an exercise of succession. Everything we didn’t agree became the handshake, expect from the things we didn’t agree about,” said Ruto.

“I have no problem with the handshake, my problem is that it became what I did not agree with.”

The deputy president dismissed President Uhuru’s claim that the handshake restored peace in the country and created a conducive environment for the Jubilee government to deliver its pledges.

“We lost the opposition, we lost the government, we lost the Big Four agenda. We lost direction,” Ruto noted.