"Secret meetings with Ruto men? No!" Raila says not interested in handshake

Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga has dismissed as fake reports that a "handshake" is in the offing between him and President William Ruto.

Reports have been rife in the recent weeks that President Ruto had sent his emissaries to the opposition leader with the idea of finding a truce and have Raila abandon his weekly anti-government rallies.

Raila now says that nothing could be further from the truth.

"I can say without fear of contradiction that I haven't sent anybody to William Ruto, and Ruto has not sent any emissary to me," Raila said in an interview with a local TV station on Tuesday, February 28.

Raila slams Gachagua

In any case, Raila affirmed that he was not interested in entering into a "handshake" with Ruto like he did with his predecessor, former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

He also launched a scathing attack against Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, telling him that he was not interested in sharing government either.

"That rogue deputy president has been running around telling Kenyans that we are looking for nusu mkate government [coalition government]. We do not want nusu mkate government, and even at the time of Uhuru Kenyatta, we did not get nusu mkate. The only time we were in government was during the 2008 Grand Coalition government," he added.