By Faridah N Kulumba
Africa-Press – Uganda. At the beginning of this week, the president of the Republic of Kenya H.E William Ruto, and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and Kenyan Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) opposition leader Raila Odinga had a discussion in Uganda about the incident that shocked many people in the two nations. Photos shared by President Ruto on his social handles showed the three having a discussion at a grazing field looking after cows. President Ruto and Raila became bitter enemies during the 2022 Kenyan general elections. It will always be remembered by Kenyans as the election where rivals became allies after President Uhuru Kenyatta backed his old nemesis Raila and formed Azimio la Unoja-One Kenya coalition in a closely fought election while turning back on his deputy Ruto who was his running mate in the past elections.
The three leaders meeting
According to the statement made by President Ruto on Monday, February 26, the three leaders discussed boosting the diplomatic ties between Nairobi and Kampala and bolstering the relationship between all the seven East African Community nations. Ruto further stated that Kenya and Uganda are committed to the deepening of the long-established diplomatic and economic ties between each other. He said they are focused on bringing all the seven East African Community nations closer to their ultimate goal of forming the East African Federation. They also talked about Raiala’s recent bid for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship. On February 15 Odinga declared his interest in the AUC chairmanship seat saying he was ready for the role. “Had the pleasure of meeting President Yoweri Museveni at his Kisozi country home in Uganda. We discussed critical issues that affect our two countries such as energy and petroleum. Also discussed was the declared candidacy of Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga for the Africa Union Commission chairmanship,” said Ruto.
People’s reaction to the three leaders’ photos
As soon as the images of the three leaders tending to Museveni’s cows were uploaded, they went viral on social media, with every Kenyan giving their take. Most of those who reacted drew comparisons to the 2018 meeting between Raila and former president Uhuru Kenyatta that led to the handshake. Supporters of the two leaders were also united in stating that there were no permanent enemies in the murky waters of politics. Ian Mulumba a Ugandan journalist reacted by saying that politics is a dirty game, the three leaders only want to hoodwink people by making them believe that they are enemies yet they share the same cake. Some Kenyans wished Odinga success in the AUC chairmanship saying that Africa should reward him for being an outstanding patriot.
Why the meeting stunned Kenyans
During the 9th August 2022 Kenyan elections Ruto and Raila were not seeing eye to eye, which led to an extent where the two could not share a podium which led to Raila boycotting the presidential debate that was organized for them to share their plans for Kenya during their administration. Surprisingly the debate had only one debater Ruto who appeared solo after his main opponent Raila decided to boycott the debate. According to Raila’s secretariat statement, he could not share the same podium with UDA party presidential candidate Ruto who had no regard for ethics and public morals.Raila’s spokesman accused Ruto of trying to doge discussion of key issues. Ruto demanded that the debate not focus on corruption, integrity, ethics, and governance the key existential questions that Kenya faces, and any debate devoid of these questions would be an insult to the intelligence of Kenyans. The Kenya Kwanza Alliance Ruto after attending the presidential debate by himself bragged by saying that his competitor was not the real presidential candidate, he was just a project of the system.According to Ruto, his opponent Raila opted out of the debate due to the fact that he did not have a plan, he had no agenda, he could not articulate anything to the people of Kenya because he feared answering difficult questions, and Raila had been part of the administration for 5 years and that during those years many things happened. After the election where DP Ruto was declared a winner, Raila petitioned Kenya’s Supreme Court challenging the election results on 22 August. He alleged that the tally had involved “criminality. Rito’s way to the top office has met several challenges starting with the four IEBC Commissioners disowning the results that were announced by the chairman Chebukati.
In the petition, Raila wanted the court to declare the election null and void on several grounds, including a mismatch between the turnout figures and the results, and alleged that the IEBC failed to tally ballots from 27 constituencies, rendering the result unverifiable and unaccountable. In September 2022, Kenya’s supreme court confirmed Ruto as a winner of the country’s disputed national vote, ending weeks of political uncertainty after the opposition – and election officials – questioned the count. The court held that there was no credible evidence of fraud, interference, or a failure of the electoral body’s technology. It held that there were valid reasons for the postponement of the gubernatorial elections in certain areas (some of which were perceived Odinga strongholds) and that there were no grounds to conclude that the postponement had affected voter turnout. Even after the Kenyan court confirmed Ruto’s presidency, Raila continued to oppose his administration. In March 2023, Raila’s Azimio coalition started staging nine days of street protests against the government, with the rallies sometimes degenerating into looting and deadly clashes between security forces and demonstrators. Many people were killed and others were arrested. Ruto’s government was accused of raising taxes as the country buckled under spiralling inflation and of rowing back on promises made during the August 2022 election campaign, when he declared himself the champion of impoverished Kenyans and pledged to improve their economic fortunes. In April and May Raila called off demonstrations after Ruto agreed to dialogue, but the talks broke down, prompting the Azimio coalition to organize several rounds of protests in July. After the three leaders meeting in Uganda, President Ruto insinuated that his truce with Raila could have been planned before the 2022 General Election. Ruto says the current truce is aimed at unifying the country for development.
For More News And Analysis About Uganda Follow Africa-Press
