The head of the opposition, Raila Odinga, has told the international media that Kenyan President William Ruto’s decision to abandon a harsh stance in the face of opposition protests to open the door for discussions.
Once the protests over the high cost of living and suspected electoral irregularities started, President Ruto spoke to the nation for the first time on Sunday.
The president agreed to one of Mr Odinga’s demands – a bipartisan engagement in parliament on the formation of the next electoral commission.
But he suggested he won’t engage the opposition leader on his other demands, including the cost of living and legitimacy of his presidency.
In a BBC interview, Mr Odinga welcomed Mr Ruto’s “climbdown” and insisted that all issues must be put on the table.
Quote Message: Mr Ruto came up with what you can call an olive branch. He said he’s now ready to do negotiations. This is basically a climbdown.”
Mr Ruto came up with what you can call an olive branch. He said he’s now ready to do negotiations. This is basically a climbdown.”
Quote Message: That’s why we said that we can embrace dialogue so long as he’s ready to put all the issues that we are talking about on the table.”
That’s why we said that we can embrace dialogue so long as he’s ready to put all the issues that we are talking about on the table.”