Ruto: Why I'm ready to call Raila 'my dear brother' many times

"If calling Raila 'my brother' will help stop the demos, then I will call him 'my brother' ten times."

Piece by: SHARON MWENDE
Politics

• Ruto said it is time the country moves on from violence and destruction of public property.

• He said it was not feasible to deliver on his promises with the opposition demos going on and leading to property destruction.

President William Ruto and Raila Odinga
Image: THE-STAR

President William Ruto now says he will address Azimio leader Raila Odinga as "my brother" if it is the only way to appeal to him to end demos.

While extending an olive branch to Raila on April 2, Ruto used the term 'my brother' to address him.

"I urge my brother Raila Odinga and the opposition to call off the demonstrations," he said then. 

Noting this, the President said he had heard complaints on the same, indicating that he should have called the opposition leader 'mtu wa kitendawili' as he referred to him during campaigns.

He however said he will use the term if it is the key. 

"Kama kuita Raila Odinga 'my brother' ndio itasaidia awache maandamano, awache fujo, mali ya watu isiharibike, mimi nitamuita 'my brother' mara kumi. Hata nitaongeza 'my dear brother'," he said.

(If calling Raila 'my brother' will help stop the demos, chaos, and destruction of people's property, then I will call him 'my brother' ten times. I will even make it 'my dear brother'.)

He spoke on Monday during an Iftar hosted at the State House. 

Ruto said it was time the country moved on from violence and destruction of public property.

He said it was not feasible to deliver on his promises with the opposition demos going on and leading to property destruction.

Acknowledging that the responsibility to lower the cost of living was his, he urged the opposition to be patient.

"Watulize maneno hiyo nipange (Let them calm down so that I can plan)," he said.

He further urged them to give the Parliamentary negotiation committee a chance to get solutions for the issues raised by the Raila Odinga team.

Ruto assured that the government was determined to change the country's economy.

Following the April 2 address, Raila called off weekly demos.

He however changed his stance on the same after claiming that Ruto had not honoured his end of the bargain.

Raila said the parliamentary system would not be enough to address all areas of concern.

"Our suggestion is to have a conversation at the national level through a process akin to the 2008 National Accord. To this end, the coalition proposes a team drawn from its ranks both in Parliament and outside Bunge," he said.

The chief opposition leader said he will unveil a second phase of nationwide mass action after the holy month of Ramadhan.

Ramadhan is set to end on April 20, meaning Raila could mobilise his troops to the streets as from next week.

"I agree with what you have said, the talks will happen alongside demos. We will fight fire with fire. We will announce after the holy month of Ramadhan," Raila said. 

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