Raila Odinga has trashed claims that he is interested in having a ‘Handshake’ deal with President William Ruto.
Addressing the nation on Tuesday, Raila said that Handshake claims have been the creation of President Ruto and his allies.
He further told DP Rigathi Gachagua that he is not interested in shaking his hands.
“We have never talked about the handshake. That is the language that has been coming from the other side. It is them that have been saying these people want Handshake and Nusu Mkate. Take it to Mr Gachagua, I do not want even to shake his hands,” Raila said.
Raila clarified that he is only focused on having the issues they raised addressed.
Raila also revealed that he has never met President Ruto but agreed their emissaries met and agreed on how to handle the stalemate.
However, he said that despite their emissaries meeting, President Ruto ignored a number of issues they wanted to be placed on the negotiation table.
He said they will not back down on them and asked the government to have them included in their deliberations going forward.
“There has been no meeting between me and Mr Ruto, but we said the statement by Ruto did not include issues we wanted to be addressed. That is why in our statement we reiterated the issues we wanted on the table,” Raila said.
President Ruto has maintained that he will not have a Handshake with the opposition saying that it waters down democracy, and that a bipartisan approach on the matter through the parliament would be sufficient to address the areas of concern.
Raila in his address, however intimated that the parliamentary system would not be enough to address all areas of concern.
“Our suggestion is to have a conversation at the national level through a process akin to the 2008 National Accord. To this end, the coalition proposes a team drawn from its ranks both in Parliament and outside Bunge,” Odinga said.
