President William Ruto has today met the Kenya Kwanza Parliamentary leadership of both Houses to explain why he ceded ground on demands by Azimio La Umoja.
Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga yesterday caught their respective camps by surprise by announcing a cease-fire last evening on the eve of the third round of anti-government protests by Azimio la Umoja.
It is said that Ruto has explained to his troops that Kenya was losing much out of protests hence his surprise decision to cut a deal with Raila. Very few people in his camp knew that the president was engaging Azimio’s leadership in the background.
They were caught by surprise by his announcement on Sunday. Ruto held a press conference and announced he was ceding ground and agreed to meet the leaders to discuss the demands.
Today, the president has asked the parliamentary leadership of both houses to consider his proposal for a bipartisan approach to addressing the matters raised by the opposition as a priority.
“We are convinced the issues shall be conclusively handled by Parliament in order to allow us to focus on our economic transformation programme,” he said.
Ruto’s meeting with his Kenya Kwanza team came just ours after Azimio la Umoja called off its protests in order to give dialogue a chance.
The coalition’s announcement came just hours after Ruto’s address in which he called on the opposition to give way for a bipartisan parliamentary process in the recruitment of commissioners to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
