Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has ruled out any possibility of Azimio leader Raila Odinga joining the Kenya Kwanza government through a handshake with President William Ruto.
Gachagua has warned that residents from the Mount Kenya region will rebel against any proposal to include Raila in the Kenya Kwanza government.
“I have already informed President Ruto that if the talks end in a handshake with Raila Odinga, Mount Kenya will rebel,” said Gachagua.
This follows a recent war of words between him and Raila over the activities of the National Dialogue Committee at the Bomas of Kenya.
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Gachagua’s sentiments emerged two days after Raila stated that he was not fit to serve as the deputy president of Kenya.
“Gachagua’s divisive utterances and segregation of communities and regions by saying government serves only shareholders makes him unfit to serve as deputy president,” Raila said during an interview with KTN.
“Gachagua is behaving like a president of the Mt Kenya region instead of playing the national status the Constitution requires him to play, making him not only a local disgrace but a global one,” he added.
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Raila had on several occasions accused the deputy president of rubbishing the talks and terming the national dialogue committee as a waste of time.
According to the Azimio leader, the national dialogue committee was tasked with the responsibility of addressing issues that emerged after the 2022 elections as well as ensuring peace and stability in the country.
On the other hand, Gachagua on Friday, October 6 accused Raila of using the national dialogue to find a way of joining the government.
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“I assure you that the talks will get him nowhere. We have agreed with President William Ruto that we will not bring him into the government,” said the deputy president.
The deputy president explained that President Ruto had approved the formation of the talks team to discuss several issues affecting Kenyans, but a handshake was not among them.