Raila will not address US Congress, says his advisor

NASA leader Raila Odinga’s advisor, Salim Lone, has clarified that the opposition chief will not address the United States (US) Congress as claimed by some Kenyan media outlets.

Contrary to the said reports, Lone confirmed to Citizen Digital that Raila will only have important meetings in the US Congress in his bid to push for electoral reforms in light of the political crisis in Kenya.

“Mr Odinga will have important meetings in the US Congress but he will not address it,” said Lone.

Lone, who is a former spokesperson to former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, further clarified that addressing the US lawmakers is an exemption only granted to world foreign leaders on special occasions.

“Addressing congress is a privilege reserved for countries’ foreign leaders on state visits to the US,” Lone said.

Congress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the two chambers that form the US legislature.

Raila’s trip to the US comes after the controversial October 26 repeat poll that the opposition leader withdrew from, terming it a “charade”, and which Jubilee’s Uhuru Kenyatta was declared president-elect by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

The opposition leader has previously been abroad during the electioneering period, travelling to the United Kingdom in October where he delivered a lecture on the current political situation in Kenya at Chatham house, the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London on Friday, October 13.