President Uhuru Kenyatta has responded to Raila Odinga over an ultimatum he issued on Friday.
Raila said the only way his ‘swearing-in’ will be stopped is if the President reaches out to him in person.
On Friday, during a meeting with envoys at his Capitol Hill office, Raila through co-principal Musalia Mudavadi reportedly said Uhuru must reach out to Raila and arrange for a venue where they can both meet and dialogue before any other party is enjoined in the national dialogue.
But Uhuru yesterday trashed this ultimatum saying he is not ready to engage Raila in any political talk; Raila should wait for 2022 to have such political talks with his Deputy William Ruto, he said.
He said the only thing he can engage in with Raila is on how to develop the country.
“Siasa zimeisha isipokuwa wengine wanafikiria hazijaisha kwa hivyo wale wanataka tuongee wangoje 2022 wataongea na William,” said the President as quoted by the Star.
In English it loosely translates to: “Those pushing to have talks with me should know time is gone, they can wait for 2022 and talk with [Deputy President] William Ruto, right now we are busy serving Kenyans.”
The President’s stand on the matter is likely to strain his relationship with Raila even further.
In his inauguration speech, Uhuru promised to heal the nation after a lengthy campaigning period that left the country highly polarized.
Both local and international community have called on the two parties to embark on immediate and sustained national dialogue.
The US and UK through their envoys in Kenya Robert Godec (US ambassador) and Nic Hailey (UK High Commissioner) urged both parties to hold national dialogue.
The US was pushing for the talks with the view that they could lead to amending the Constitution and creating Prime Minister’s position.
This, has been touted by several political players to be the ultimate solution towards ending the political stalemate between Jubilee and NASA.
But Raila maintained he is not interested at all in striking a power-sharing deal or forming any coalition with Jubilee.