President Ruto urges Raila Odinga to call off protests, suggests bipartisan engagement to resolve Azimio issues on IEBC
President William Ruto has urged Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance coalition party leader Raila Odinga to call off planned demos.
Addressing the nation from State House Nairobi on Sunday, the President said he is ready to engage any leader.
The head of State House on Sunday asked the opposition to follow the rule of law in addressing their grievances.
“I have carefully listened to the issues raised by my friend, the Honourable Raila Odinga in times like this, It is not about who is right or who is wrong, like Winston Churchill said, I dare say, like, quote, courage is what it takes to stand up and speak,” he said.
“But it is also what it takes to sit down and listen I have always been ready to engage cannon support walks of life, including elected and appointed leaders from across the political divide.”
Dr Ruto said the reconstitution of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) can be handled in Parliament through a bi-partisan approach.
“On the reconstitution of the future Electoral Commission, the selection panel that currently is in the office is a creation of the law that was passed by the two chambers of parliament in response to a court decision the court clerk clearly stated that one institution, and in this case, Parliament cannot terminate the process of establishing an electoral commission at the expense of other institutions that have a role to play in the country’s electoral process,” added Dr Ruto.
Commenting on the alleged plot to shut down the internet and media broadcast on Monday, the head of state refuted the claims.
President William Ruto has been advised by a group of United Democratic Alliance (UDA) leaders not to treat Azimio leader Raila Odinga with kid gloves. The group led by Kikuyu Member of Parliament, Kimani Ichung’wah claimed that although Raila was revered in Kenya as the founder of democracy, he has since evolved into a mercenary for hire.
