Gachagua: I Rejected US Senator Coons’ Offer to Dialogue with Raila

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has shared details of his discussion with United States Senator for Delaware Chris Coons.

Coons, a close ally of US President Joe Biden, visited the country last month where he held meetings with Gachagua and Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition leader Raila Odinga among other leaders.

In an interview on a local TV station, Gachagua indicated that he turned down an offer by Senator Coons for dialogue with Odinga to resolve the crisis in Kenya that saw the opposition hold bi-weekly anti-government protests.

The deputy president said he challenged Coons to explain why President Biden and his closest competitor Donald Trump did not have a dialogue after the 2020 US presidential election.

"I told him yes, I would also want for peace to prevail in Kenya....but in America after Trump lost and there was a lot of unrest why did you not invite him and give him half the government?" Gachagua posed. 

"I told him to tell Raila that we would not sit down for talks.... that if he wants to talk to us, he should talk to his MPs to talk to our MPs."

Gachagua ruled out the possibility of a handshake between President Ruto and Odinga, saying such a move would dilute any benefits from a democratic election.

"Why would we hold an election then, if some people will come with protests and demand they be given a part of the government?” the deputy president wondered.