Breaking the ice: President-elect William Ruto and President Uhuru Kenyatta finally talk

President Uhuru Kenyatta and President-elect William Ruto at KICC, Nairobi. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

President-elect William Ruto says he has finally talked to President Uhuru Kenyatta. According to Ruto, the two discussed power transition and the August 9 polls.

"I had a telephone conversation with my boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta. We discussed the just-concluded General Election and the transition as envisaged by our democratic tradition and practice," Ruto tweeted on Wednesday, September 7.

This comes two days after the president-elect revealed that he had not spoken to Kenyatta but held nothing against him [Kenyatta] for endorsing Raila Odinga and reneging on their political pact. Before the 2013 election, President Uhuru Kenyatta promised to ensure he was succeeded by Ruto once his second tenure was over.

He, however, after the 2017 election, changed his position and started coopeareting with the opposition leader and erstwhile rival, Raila Odinga, whom he supported in the just-ended polls losing out to Ruto.

The March 9 rapprochement between Uhuru is commonly referred to as the handshake and has had its fair share of criticism, especially after its offshoot, the Building Bridges Initiative, was shot down in the Kenyan courts.

"I will shortly be putting a call to my good friend President Uhuru Kenyatta. I haven't talked to him in months, but shortly I will be doing a call to him so that we can have a conversation on the transition process," he said on Monday.

Ruto said he had not made any demands on Uhuru and understood that the president was free to back whoever he wanted.

"When I chose Uhuru Kenyatta, I did not give him any conditions. So I take no offence at all that he chose to support another person. And therefore, we will remain friends in the context of where we are," he said.

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition challenging Ruto's declaration as president-elect.

Later in the day, the president, in a televised address said he respected the court's decision but he tellingly urged citizens to get in the habit of "constantly challenging decisions by institutions."

And, It was not lost to observers that he did not congratulate his deputy on the occasion of being, first, declared as the president-elect and secondly, after the victory in court.