Narc leader Charity Ngilu has praised President William Ruto for endorsing opposition leader Raila Odinga’s bid for the Africa Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship.

Ngilu said the new working relationship between the two former political arch-rivals came as a shock to her, describing it as the new ‘Handshake’ akin to the political truce between Raila and retired President Uhuru Kenyatta on March 9, 2018.

“What has shocked me in the last few days is the new handshake. Thank you for supporting Baba (Raila) to become the next AU chair,” Ngilu said.

She, however, called on the Head of State to reach out to other politicians in the opposition, suggesting that he (Ruto) can not take Raila to AU alone and abandon his (Raila) allies, who backed the former prime minister’s unsuccessful bid in the last presidential election.

She, however, expressed her admiration for male politicians, saying female leaders ‘would never do that’.

“I still need to understand how this works amongst male leadership. Women don’t do that. Since I haven’t known how it works I’ll continue to learn how it works,” she added.

The former Kitui County governor challenged women leaders to come together and support each other regardless of their political affiliation.

To promote inclusivity, she called on the local leadership to support the implementation of the two-thirds gender rule.

“We must make sure we increase the number of women. Let us not leave it at the governor level; we go to the grassroots level and increase the number of women who are there. We identify them and make sure they are trained and have skills… Increase the MCAs, MPs, and women governors, and increase the number of women in all their places,” she said.

Ngilu was speaking during the launch of the strategy of the G7, a caucus that brings together the seven women Governors in Kenya.

Speaking at the event, President Ruto reiterated his commitment to implementing the two-thirds gender rule in the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party even as he challenged other party leaders to follow suit.

He promised to agree with his deputy Rigathi Gachagua to preserve the UDA party presidential running mate position for women.

At the same time, he praised Ngilu for her bold political moves, saying she holds a special place in Kenya’s history as the first woman to contest for presidency.

According to the UDA leader, Ngilu’s daring spirit has inspired many women to seek leadership positions.

“Ngilu occupies a special place in our country. She is the first woman to dare vie for president. Charity is many times hard on me but she is a great inspiration to many women across Kenya. Her daring spirit has inspired many of you who are women,” Ruto said.

“The mentorship Charity gave you please mentor others going into the future.”

Ngilu served as the second governor of Kitui County between 2017 and 2022.

The former county chief unsuccessfully vied for the presidency in 1997. She also served as Minister for Health from 2003 until 2007 and Minister of Water and Irrigation from April 2008 to 2013.