President Ruto and Raila should give dialogue a chance

Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya leader Raila Odinga (left) and President William Ruto during a past event. [File, Standard]

The opening of a window by President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga for talks for the sake of peace should be lauded by all Kenyans of goodwill.

The talks which began on Wednesday are highly welcome for the sake of peace and tranquility. Before the Ruto, Raila meeting a miasma of hopelessness had begun to worry Kenyans.

No country can grow when it’s reeling under the weight of violence and instability. Any government that pretends to imagine it can make progress in such condition, is lying to itself.

It is imperative that the talks are done within a particular time frame and concluded for the country to move forward.

Both President Ruto and Raila should ensure the talks are devoid of political bureaucracies and unnecessary hardline stance.

We saw what happened with the Bipartisan talks and how a stalemate emerged two months after the team was formed when their mandate was clear and their deliverables expected for the sake of the country.

Such quagmires should be avoided at all cost and the talks led effectively and good results attained. We are all Kenyans and all we need is peace. 

I urge the president, who is my neighbour in the village, to give the talks a good chance and stop his lieutenants from derailing the process.

A similar request goes to Raila whom I have supported for many years and I still voted for in August last year.

President Ruto was elected by 7.1 million and those who voted for Azimio leader Raila Odinga were about 6.9 million. This is a simple margin that no one should brag about and instead bring efforts together for peace, love and unity. President Ruto is now our leader and all patriots should support him to succeed.

The late former Internal Security minister Prof George Saitoti prayed a few days before his death that the cry of many could be heard. In the past, our neighbours ran to us for peace including countries like Uganda. Today, under President Yoweri Museveni, the country has been stable for decades indicating that good leadership can change a nation.

Ruto needs to acknowledge that Raila holds a significant support base that cannot be wished away and therefore he must respect him and listen to him.

This will solve the political problem facing our country. Raila has been there for decades from the times of Presidents Daniel Arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta, and he has some contributions to make.

I also request Raila to stop the protests since they are not a better way of bringing out issues to the fore. In everything we do, the Bible says that whoever humbles himself, God will lift him up and whoever lifts himself up, God will bring him down - James 4:10. 

Even after the talks, Ruto and Raila need to be magnanimous in themselves, preach peace and give dialogue a chance so that the country does not shed any more blood. As brothers we can talk with each other and not at each other.

-The writer is a businessman in Sugoi