This archive report was first published on 16 July 2019.
Deputy President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga met behind closed doors at a Nairobi business forum on July 15, 2019, just days after their heated rivalry.
The meeting took place at the KICC in Nairobi, where Ruto was representing President Uhuru Kenyatta, while Raila was attending in his capacity as a representative of the East African Community.
Despite their recent public disagreements, the two leaders put aside their differences and met in a closed-door session, with Raila saying he had attended the meeting in his official capacity, while Ruto said he was there to represent the President.
The meeting was part of the Business Forum, which was held to mark the start of the week-long business conference in Nairobi.
According to sources, the meeting was a significant development in the ongoing rivalry between Ruto and Raila, who have been at odds for several years.
Raila and Ruto have been bitter rivals since their falling out in 2007, when Ruto left the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and formed his own party, the United Republican Party (URP), before eventually joining forces with Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013 and 2017.
At the meeting, Ruto and Raila were also joined by Trade Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, who has been at the center of a recent scandal involving allegations of a plot to assassinate Ruto.
The meeting was seen as a significant development in the ongoing rivalry between Ruto and Raila, who have been at odds for several years.
