President William Ruto confirmed holding talks with a section of Azimio leaders as he insisted that the eagerly awaited dialogue would not be centred on the cost of living.

The President disclosed that his meeting with Azimio leader Raila Odinga last week centred on how to end weekly demonstrations that have led to the destruction of property.

Speaking in Likoni while addressing a rally President Ruto, without disclosing more from the discussions, said both parties of the political divide resolved to protect the country from more political chaos.

“Our engaging our friends in the Opposition, we agreed that all leaders past, present and future that violence, destruction of property will not be in the equation in the republic of Kenya, we are democratic country we can talk to,” said Ruto.

He said as the president, he is obliged to ensure every Kenyan enjoys peace and tranquillity. The president Made the remarks during a Sunday thanksgiving service in Ukunda, Kwale County.

Support policies

“As the head of the government is obligated to make sure that every Kenyan, whether they support policies or not, their property is protected and that there is peace in the country, and I have given a commitment that there will be no violence in Kenya,” said Ruto.

At the same time President Ruto said the talks between Kenya Kwanza and Azimio will not be centred on reducing the cost of living because that matter is already captured well in the government manifesto and how it should be implemented.

“We are a democratic country, we believe in the constitution, for those who are saying cost of living is not in the structure of talks, we want to tell them reduction of cost of living is in the manifesto, so I want to ask my friends that we have agreed we must reject violence,” said Ruto.

Ruto said his government is planning to reduce the cost of living later this year as the bread basket regions are experiencing bumper harvest. The president spoke during a thanksgiving service in Ukunda, Kwale County.

“We are already implementing the programs that will lead to the reduction of cost of living, I want to tell them we have a whole programe, what you are recommending will not in any way contribute to the cost of living, we have a clear plan to do that,” said Ruto.

Ruto reiterated that for the past eight months, the government has stabilised the economy, and will be able to manage the country through its own source of revenues. President Ruto said the economy is on the right trajectory.

At an earlier function, Kenya Kwanza top leadership questioned the need for the process since the country is not in a crisis.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi threw the first salvo saying the country was not facing an international crisis to warrant the invitation of outsiders to spearhead the talks.

He told Raila to stop calling foreign leaders from neighbouring countries to come and hold talks with President Ruto.

“Sudan is in a crisis, Congo is in a crisis but Kenya has no crisis we have a president and Kenya is peaceful and whatever we have can be solved these are just political differences,” Mudavadi said.

He also said that Raila should stop internationalising his losses and wait for 2027 during the next election.
“Raila is trying to internationalise his losses of the election that’s why he wants intervention from neighbouring countries which is wrong,” he said.

Mudavadi said that leaders in Kenya should learn to solve their problems in the right and constitutional ways.

Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Salim Mvurya was more brunt urging the opposition to admit that President Ruto is the head of state before any talks begin.

Mvurya told the opposition to embrace fairness and give President Ruto some latitude to govern the country for he was the outright winner in the 2022 presidential election.

Power-sharing deal

The former Kwale Governor maintained that the 2022 general election was fair and it would be unfair for the opposition chief to demand the infamous ‘nusu mkate’ power-sharing deal.

“Did the president win or not, why do you people (Azimio) want to subject the president to talks? If they want the talks, the government will provide avenues for talks, but first, they have to be fair to the president by letting him govern the country because he was the clear winner in the last year’s elections,” Mvurya added.

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula said the planned dialogue will not lower the cost of living.
Wetangula said that the way to lower the cost of living is by having sound economic policies, and not political engagements.

“I want to tell you, Mr. President, if you want to lower the cost of living, is not by going to strange places to talk with strange people. It is by having sound economic policies, increasing production and helping the Kenyan farmer to provide enough food,” Wetangula stated.

Speaking during a church service in Kwale County on Sunday, President Ruto confirmed that he met the opposition leader and his team this week.

However, Ruto told the opposition to give an assurance that they do not plan violent protests in the country again if any talks are to be held.

Democratic country

“I talked with the opposition leader (Raila) and his team; I told them that we are a democratic country guided by the constitution and law. We can disagree on many issues but no present past or future leader will plan violence destruction of property. That will never happen again in Kenya,” the President said.

“We can talk on other things but we are not going to negotiate about the safety of Kenya. We have agreed that violence and destruction of property will not be in the equation of the politics and governance of Kenya. The other things we can talk,” he added.

The planned talks will bring together a 10-member committee entailing representatives from both sides.

Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo will oversee the talks between the members, including MPs from each side and individuals outside parliament.

“Maandamano will not assist Kenyans improve their livelihood and it is not the way to go, he should give me time to implement my plan for Kenyans and they should wait for 2027,” Ruto said.

He also added that the high cost of living will never be low through maandamanos in the country.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said although he welcomed the planned talks, the opposition should not expect the government to allow them to engage in violent protests.

“We will clash any violent protests as it has happened before. The opposition should desist from blackmail, the police will ruthlessly clash protests aimed at interfering with the peace of Kenyans,” Gachagua said at Alliance High School in Kiambu.