Wa Iria Calls For A Handshake Between Ruto and Raila
By Zipporah Umile
Former Murang’a County Governor Mwangi wa Iria has said that the country is headed to the dogs politically if the ball of contention between President William Ruto and Opposition Leader who doubles up as the Azimio One Kenya Alliance Leader Raila Odinga is not contained.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, Wa Iria who is also the USAWA Party leader criticized the hard stances taken by Ruto and Raila over the manner in which the August 2022 General Elections were conducted and the results announced by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, IEBC, whereby Ruto was declared winner, a position that Raila contests despite the Supreme Court ruling in favor of Ruto and IEBC.
Wa Iria also says he doesn’t agree with the manner in which IEBC conducted the whole electioneering exercise saying that it allowed itself to be manipulated by the European Union, EU, United Kingdom, UK, and other political actors.
‘If what Raila is saying is anything to go by, I am therefore vindicated. I was a Presidential candidate but IEBC locked me out without an explanation. This was despite the fact that I was a second term governor. I complained to the EU about the same. They received my letter despite them not getting me a reply. I have evidence that EU, UK and some other political actors infiltrated IEBC and that compromised the whole process,’ Wa Iria said.
The former Governor appealed to Ruto and Raila to relax their hard stands and agree to save the country from spiraling into a crisis.
He warned that if the two political bigwigs fail to agree, he will lead a peaceful revolt in the country to agitate for a truce between the two.
This comes after Raila held a rally at the historical Kamukunji grounds in Nairobi where he stated that his elections were stolen and that his Azimio brigade does not recognize Ruto’s Presidency and called for his resignation.
However, in a quick rejoinder, an unshaken Ruto dismissed him saying that he knows his usual tactics of wanting to get into government through the back door.
‘This is what he has been doing since 2013. I will not do any handshake with him,’ Ruto said at a funeral in Kiambu after Raila’s rally in Kamukunji.
About The Author
