Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition party captain Raila Odinga turned down an invitation to President-Elect William Ruto’s swearing-in ceremony.
Ruto was sworn in on Tuesday, September 13, at the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani.
Raila, who is out of the country, still believes the August 9, presidential election that saw William Ruto garner 7.1 million votes was flawed.
According to him, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) did not conduct a free and fair election by declaring William Ruto, the president-elect.
He protested the presidential results at the Supreme Court of Kenya which later dismissed his petition and upheld William Ruto’s victory.
As such, the former Prime Minister promised his supporters that he will announce his next step once he gets back into the country.
“Once I return to the country, I will, jointly with Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party leaders, announce our next steps as we seek to deepen and strengthen our democracy,” Raila said.
But in an interview with Spice FM on Wednesday, September 14, former Amani National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Barrack Muluka opined that the move by the veteran politician is aimed at a handshake with President William Ruto.
The communication expert said, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta’s handshake partner used a similar trick after losing the 2017 election to enter into a post-election agreement with the then Jubilee government.
“I can see that the other side (Azimio la Umoja) is angling for a handshake. They are saying things like we are not happy, we do not agree, we will tell our followers what to do next,
“It is sort of like priming up for handshake and the pattern is very regular that after the loss of the election you go out for a few days, you come back and create tension so that you are incorporated into the government,” Muluka said.
