Kenya’s veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga has dismissed widespread rumours of a power-sharing deal between him and President Uhuru Kenyatta ahead of elections next year as he leaves the door open for a fifth presidential bid.
The mainstay of Kenyan politics, the former prime minister remains hugely popular despite losing four shots at the presidency in 1997, 2007, 2013 and 2017.But his image as an anti-establishment firebrand has taken a knock since he stunned the country with a headline-grabbing handshake with former foe Kenyatta in March 2018, following deadly post-election clashes the year before.
The truce, known universally as “the handshake”, sparked feverish speculation the two men had made a pact that would see Odinga succeed Kenyatta, a two-term president who cannot run a third time.
In an interview with AFP however, the 76-year-old Odinga brushed off the rumours, saying he had nothing to gain from the rapprochement, which saw the pair vow to work together to defuse months of violence and political turmoil.
“It is propaganda peddled by busybodies,” Odinga said in his Nairobi office.
“The situation was highly polarised in the country, there were demonstrations, extensive use of force, people were dying and there was need for a resolution,” he said.
“As a result of the handshake, peace returned to the country.”
Critics argue that the truce has effectively left the East African country without an opposition and taken the shine off what many expect to be Odinga’s last stab at the presidency.
The two leaders’ push to amend the constitution and expand the executive has also left them open to the charge that their handshake was designed to ensure that Kenyatta could stay in power as a prime minister.
The government intends to file an appeal with the country’s top court after a panel of judges in Nairobi rejected the wide-ranging constitutional changes
