Gachagua holds talks with US senator who brokered 2018 handshake

United States Senator for Delaware Chris Coons who pushed for the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga after the 2017 disputed presidential election on Wednesday held talks with Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua at a time when Raila’s supporters have been holding protests over the high cost of living and electoral justice.

This is the second time in under a year that Coons is visiting the country.

In a tweet, Gachagua confirmed he had hosted a delegation from the US led by Coons and discussed issues to do with trade, security and democracy.

“This morning, I hosted a delegation from the US led by Senator for Delaware, Christopher Andrew Coons for consultations towards strengthening ties between the two nations, especially in trade, security, democracy, among other key issues of mutual interest,” read a tweet posted on Gachagua’s official Twitter handle.

In August last year, Coons, a close ally of US President Joe Biden engaged shuttle diplomacy between then  President-elect William Ruto and Raila in an effort aimed at unlocking the stalemate over the outcome of the August 9 General election.  The delegation also met the then President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, Nairobi.

Coons was in the country after Raila rejected the declaration of Ruto as winner of the presidential election.