Raila: I dont blame Kalonzo, Mudavadi, Wetangula for skipping swearing-in

Raila: I dont blame Kalonzo,  Mudavadi, Wetangula for skipping swearing-in

Opposition leader Raila Odinga says he was not disappointed when his fellow NASA co-principals; Kalonzo Musyoka, Moses Wetangula and Musalia Mudavadi, skipped his ‘swearing-in’ as the people’s president on January 30, 2018.

Speaking on Citizen TV’s News Night, Odinga also stated that he did not hold it against the three as he was the one scheduled to take oath.

“I did not hold it against anyone who did not come, I was the one taking oath; I do not want to apportion blame on any one,” said Odinga.

“Nigeria, American or Russian number those are immaterial. The swearing-in date was cast on stone, every Kenyan who listens to the media knew. Half a million came to that function and they knew it would start at 10am but we eventually started at 2.30pm.”

He added: “Whoever wanted to come went there, whoever did not want to did not go. So I don’t want to be blamed that I was to call anyone. Those were excuses. We had agreed that we would all come but there are people who decided not to come….”

Asked whether he colleagues no-show disappointed him, Odinga responded with an emphatic ‘No.’

“No… It did not disappoint me. It was attended by choice. If you did not feel like attending you had the option not to attend,” he said.

The ODM party leader further stated that he did not leave his co-principals out of the famous handshake between himself and President Uhuru Kenyatta as they had previously alluded.

He added that the decision not to include them as well as Deputy President William Ruto was discussed beforehand.

“I have not left anyone out. We had agreed that what we were engaging in was talks about talks,” he said.

“We agreed that the first talks would be between myself and Uhuru. But when we finished talking I took the time to go and brief my colleagues and we went to a resort called Stoni Athi where I gave them a blow-by-blow account on how these talks started and how we arrived at the MOU. Uhuru Kenyatta also did the same thing. There was nothing secret.”

During the Tuesday night interview with Hussein Mohammed, the former premier brushed off FORD-Kenya leader Moses Wetangula’s claims that he (Raila) was behind his ousting as the leader of minority in the Senate.

Mr Odinga mentioned his efforts in trying to prevent the Bungoma Senator’s ouster saying “I instructed the NASA secretariat to write to the speaker stating that Wetangula is our leader,” adding that “he (Wetangula) is entitled to his views.”

“We were with honorable Kalonzo Musyoka in that meeting and I pleaded with the Senators to spare Wetangula. But all of them said the marriage has been irredeemably broken.”

“Kalonzo and I were frustrated but there is nothing we could do.”

 

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raila odinga kalonzo musyoka Moses Wetangula Musalia Mudavadi Raila swearing in NASA coalition Raila Kenyatta handsahek

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