Raila jets out for one-week visit to UK
By Wycliffe Nyamasege, August 19, 2023
Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya coalition leader Raila Odinga left the country on Friday night for a one-week visit to the United Kingdom (UK).
Raila’s spokesperson Dennis Onyango confirmed the trip, saying the opposition chief is scheduled to meet family members, friends and business associates during the tour.
“He will also use his stay in the UK to rest and relax, which he doesn’t do enough back at home,” Onyango said.
Raila confirms UK tour
The Azimio boss separately confirmed the visit in a social media post on Saturday.
In the post, the former prime minister said he bumped into US Senator Chris Coons while en route to the UK. The Delaware senator was heading home after his recent visit to the country, where he held separate meetings with the Azimio leader and President William Ruto.
“Our paths crossed again last night with my friend Senator Chris Coons heading home to the US while I left for the UK. Wished each other safe flights, hoping to see each other again. Always a pleasure Chris,” Raila wrote on Facebook.
President Ruto held talks with Coons on Friday amid a push for an amicable resolution of the current standoff pitting the Head of State and the opposition leader over the cost of living and reconstitution of Kenya’s electoral commission.
In a statement, President Ruto said the senator, credited with brokering a handshake between Raila and retired President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2018, appreciated Kenya as one of the most vibrant democracies in the world.
The two leaders also held discussions on trade relations between Kenya and the US, global security issues, climate change and the progressive path of devolution in Kenya.
“Kenya is keen on enhancing its relations with the United States to expand trade and investment opportunities for citizens of both nations. This mutually beneficial partnership will extend to climate change mitigation efforts and environmental conservation,” Ruto said.
Also present were US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman and Foreigner Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua.
The meeting came barely a week after Coons held a similar meeting with Raila ahead of bipartisan talks between the Kenya Kwanza government and the former prime minister’s Azimio la Umoja- One Kenya coalition.