Wetangula to Raila: Why did you meet Uhuru without us?

NASA co-principal and Ford-Kenya leader Moses Wetangula says he and his colleagues from the opposition outfit will seek an explanation from Raila Odinga why he chose to meet President Uhuru Kenyatta without consulting them.

Speaking in Bungoma on Friday, Mr. Wetangula said despite their gripe with Mr Odinga, they applaud the NASA chief principal and President Kenyatta for reaching a truce, which will quell protracted political tensions in the country.

“That Raila and Uhuru have met, is laudable; it breaks the ice, it brings down the impasse that we have been having,” said Mr. Wetangula. “I and my colleagues from NASA will get an explanation from Raila on why he took the step he took; and why he had a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta (without our knowledge).”

“I, as Wetangula and the leader of Ford Kenya and Senate Minority Leader, was not in the know,” said Mr. Wetangula.

The Bungoma Senator said for meaningful progress to be made in integrating Kenyans, leaders from both NASA and Jubilee should read from the same script – and not only those in the strategic apex of the leading political formations.

“We have all been demanding that we want the two sides to cross the river; both Jubilee and NASA. This will lower the temperature of politics in the country, and embrace dialogue as a process and means of resolving our differences in Kenya,” said Mr. Wetangula.

“I want to state that all along we have been demanding for dialogue between NASA and Jubilee. If you have been listening to me, I have been saying we need a national conversation on the challenges facing this country,” added the Senator.

His remarks followed a joint statement he and his co-principals; Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka and ANC Party leader Musalia Mudavadi released Friday afternoon, divulging that they were not informed about Mr. Odinga and Mr. Kenyatta’s meeting.

The two met at Uhuru’s Harambee House office on Friday morning, when they held talks centered on how to unite Kenyans following a divisive 2017 General Election.

“President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga are the two leaders who symbolise the many ways in which the country has gone full circle in its divisions. They were witness to the unity and hope that was followed by discord and division,” read a statement issued by the two.

“Kenya is witnessing a continued deterioration of relationships between ethnic communities and political formations. These relationships are too often characterised by aggressive antagonism and competition. A strong nation cannot develop in this way. President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga are standing together to urge every Kenyan, every political leader and formation to compete without using ethnic profiling or by promoting disdain for any group,” added the statement.

Among those who have applauded President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga’s unity pact include Deputy President William Ruto, COTU deputy Secretary-General Benson Okwaro and former presidential candidate Abduba Dida.