Kenya Kwanza MPs Say Big No to Handshake, Plot to Counter Demos

Kenya Kwanza leaders held a meeting at State House in Nairobi on Saturday where they negated a truce between President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga. 

They acknowledged that the handshake in 2018 had caused harm to the former ruling party Jubilee and the economy. President Ruto declared his commitment to the resolution and explained how the handshake between former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila had a personal effect on him. He then said that they have a chance to make a change in Kenya, but it won't be easy and they will have to take tough decisions. 

“There will be no handshake. I am one person who knows how costly the handshake was to Kenya and me personally. It can’t happen. The people made a decision on August 9, sending us to the government and our competitors to the opposition,” Ruto told the meeting. 

To counter Azimio, the president asked the MPs to safeguard their constituents' lives and possessions. The meeting was attended by 241 politicians including governors, senators and MPs aligned to the ruling outfit. During the engagement, the leaders expressed their concerns regarding recent protests which have caught the police flatfooted. The leaders poured out their frustration over the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji failure to offer timely intelligence to counter the demonstrations. 

The Kenya Kwanza leaders are worried that Kenyans are increasingly supporting the Azimio cause which is in part attributed to the frail government's efforts to improve the cost of living. During the meeting, a section of MPs alleged that Haji spends his nights with former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Azimio leader Raila Odinga and that his proposed solution to quell the opposition leader has not succeeded. As a result, some of the attending MPs and governors threatened to have the spymaster removed from office for pushing for a handshake between Raila and President William Ruto.