ODM leader Raila Odinga claims the Match 2018 handshake saved President Uhuru Kenyatta from the jaws of his deputy William Ruto.
Speaking at Chungwa House on Wednesday, September 8, Odinga said President Uhuru had been held hostage by Ruto during his first term in office.
According to Raila, Ruto was blackmailing his boss and frustrating him and the situation might have worsened until the handshake saved President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“I found (President) Uhuru was held by the neck, could not do anything. Right now, he can breathe and supervise development projects,
“This was not possible in the past because the interest then was to get where to make money,” Raila said.
Raila Odinga’s claim that he saved President Uhuru comes after a similar accusation from Jubilee Party.
In a press statement released on Monday, September 6, Jubilee Party said Ruto had been blackmailing the president in their first term.
It said Ruto wanted control of half of Cabinet and government positions, where he would appoint his tribesmen.
“From when Deputy President took office in 2013, he demanded proposing half the cabinet, the rain started beating us. His proposals were too biased ethnically and it left the President with no options but to work with the remaining half to accommodate the rest of Kenya,” read part of a statement from Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju.
Tuju explained that Ruto would threaten President Uhuru, saying that he has numbers in parliament.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is also on the spot for saying that DP Ruto was slowing down his development agenda, hence his decision to work with his handshake partner, Raila Odinga.
“I have done much more than I was able to do even in my first term. Why? Because I have been able to focus myself working in conjunction with my colleagues and being able to focus on the development agenda and not the political agenda,” Uhuru said.
