Kenya Kwanza MPs say big no to handshake, plot to counter demos

President William Ruto speaks during a meeting in Karachuonyo Constituency, Homa Bay County, on July 15, 2023. [PCS] Kenya Kwanza leaders rejected a truce between President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga, arguing the previous handshake in 2018 ruined the former ruling party Jubilee and the economy. During a meeting at State House, Nairobi on Saturday, President Ruto firmly endorsed the resolution, adding that the handshake between former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila personally affected him. "There will be no handshake. I am one person who knows how costly the handshake was to Kenya and me personally. It can't happen. The people made a decision on August 9, sending us to the government and our competitors to the opposition," Ruto told the meeting. The head of state further told the meeting," I will not fail you. We will work together and we will succeed. We have a historical opportunity to change Kenya and it wouldn't be easy. We must make difficult but crucial decisions." To counter Azimio, the president asked the MPs to embark on a grassroots drive to "protect their constituents' lives and property," as one of the lawmakers who sought anonymity told the Sunday Standard. The legislators are set to counter protests planned for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week, so as not to allow Raila "to destroy Kenya". "He (Raila has no interests of Kenyans at heart but he is using the crisis to make Kenyans believe so. We have been tasked to unmask him and show our people how he has managed to beat the government and access government through the backdoor," said Gatanga MP Edward Muriu. "Unlike in the past when Raila had his way, we agreed that he will have to wait for 2027 to try his luck in the presidency." The meeting was attended by 241 governors, senators and MPs. Among those who spoke during the PG include Governors Cecily Mbarire (Embu), Johnson Sakaja (Nairobi), Anne Waiguru (Kirinyaga), Kenneth Lusaka (Bungoma), Fatuma Achani (Kwale) and MPs Silvanus Osoro (South Mugirango), Kimani Ichung'wa (Kikuyu), David Ochieng' (Ugenya) and Nominated MP Sabina Chege. During the meeting, Kenya's spymaster Noordin Haji was accused of failing to provide timely intelligence to counter the mass protests. The leaders poured out their frustrations over recent wave of demonstrations which caught the police flatfooted. The leaders also observed that Kenyans are slowly supporting the cause, a development that was blamed on UDA leaders for aggravating the vacuum by failing to explain to the masses the steps taken by the government to address the cost of living. They lamented that Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya has frequently caught the police off guard, amid claims that the spymaster is an opposition sympathiser. Sources in the meeting intimated that the MPs alleged that Haji "spends all his night time" with former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila and faulted his alleged solution to taming the opposition leader. Some of the MPs and governors who spoke during the PG threatened to have the spymaster removed from office for allegedly seeking a handshake between Raila and President William Ruto. "He has been saying Raila needs to be calmed down through government favours... the NIS DG must decide whether he is a public servant or in Azimio," said one of the lawmakers. Haji is barely a month old in the NIS job, succeeding former NIS boss Major General Philip Kameru, who was pushed out in a Ruto purge against Uhuru's appointees. There has been calls of arresting Raila and the Azimio-allied leaders but the move will only give them political mileage and sympathy, which would be falling into their trap and that is why we need to take the political route, " Nyeri Senator Wahome Wamatangi said. According to the senator, the meeting "realised" there had been a vacuum that Raila and his team are taking advantage of and agreed to move out of our comfort zones to the grassroots. The MPs to embark on a grassroots drive to "protect their constituents' lives and property," as one of the lawmakers who sought anonymity told the Sunday Standard. The legislators are set to counter protests planned for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week, so as not to allow Raila "to destroy Kenya". "He (Raila has no interests of Kenyans at heart but he is using the crisis to make Kenyans believe so. We have been tasked to unmask him and show our people how he has managed to beat the government and access government through the backdoor," said Gatanga MP Edward Muriu. "Unlike in the past when Raila had his way, we agreed that he will have to wait for 2027 to try his luck in the presidency." In a joint statement after the meeting, Ichungwa and Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot hinted at a possible mobilisation against anti-government demos. "As elected leaders of Kenya Kwanza, we have resolved to cooperate with the police and our constituents to ensure that there is no further loss of life and livelihoods. Going on, we and the people shall protect property, (and) guard peace and lives from these destructive elements," the two said, accusing Raila and Uhuru of pursuing selfish interests in the protests. They claimed Azimio was paying protesters to wreak havoc across the country. "The violent demonstrations witnessed in recent months have been financed by Odinga's sponsors in the former government. Tens of millions of shillings are shipped across the country ahead of every demonstration," the two lawmakers alleged. The reported Kenya Kwanza plan also involves changing the messaging to sell the government's achievements and plans to lower the cost of living that has risen beyond the reach of many vulnerable Kenyans. Ruto argued that the lawmakers were best placed to connect to their constituents as they had been entrusted to lead them. The MPs supported the government's subsidised fertiliser programme that is touted to result in a bumper harvest in the next two months and which will lead to lower unga prices after waves of similar pledges. "The easiest option would be to borrow more. But we won't. We could also give in to blackmail. But we won't... We will succeed, and our competitors know that. This is the reason they are putting all their efforts to disrupt us. But they will fail," Ruto added.

Kenya Kwanza MPs say big no to handshake, plot to counter demos

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Stand With Bold Journalism.
Stand With The Standard.

Related Topics

Popular this week

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

DIGGER JOBS

Digger Motors

Digger Real Estate

Kenya Kwanza MPs say big no to handshake, plot to counter demos

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Stand With Bold Journalism. Stand With The Standard.

Related Topics

Trending Now

Popular this week

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

Stand With Bold Journalism.
Stand With The Standard.