Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja has made an about turn and claimed that he did not call for a handshake between President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Several media outlets yesterday reported that Sakaja had, “emphasized the need to engage all leaders into discussions, noting that the Kenya Kwanza administration discourages the politics of exclusion.”
“No wants a handshake or nusu mkate. But you must acknowledge all leaders, you must be able to hear what are the legitimate concerns,” the governor was reported as having said after a church service at St. Joseph Mukasa in Zimmerman, Nairobi yesterday.
“This country is bigger than any one person this is our country and everyone must be made to feel as Kenyan as the other person,” said the governor.
Several media houses assumed that Governor Sakaja had called for a handshake between President Ruto and the opposition. The governor has however defended himself saying he did not propose anything close to a handshake.
“Not accurate. I have not asked for a handshake but a discussion. Everyone should be heard. We have only one Kenya. No annex,” he wrote on Twitter.
Sakaja’s rebuttal comes amid repeated pronouncements by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua that there is no possibility for a handshake between the Kenya Kwanza government and the opposition.
“There will be no handshake. The only handshake President Ruto is interested in is with hustlers for the Hustler Fund,” said Gachagu during an interview last night.
