This archive report was first published on 4 October 2019.
On October 4, 2019, Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi revealed that the historic handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga was influenced by foreign powers.
Mudavadi, who was speaking during his tour of the United States, claimed that the West forced Raila to extend an olive branch to the president.
According to Mudavadi, the opposition leader was threatened with visa cancellations for himself and his family members, which led to the handshake deal.
“The secret is that slowly Visas were being canceled. And when Visas are canceled, they don’t just cancel yours alone. They cancel yours, that of your wife, children, and relatives,” Mudavadi said.
However, Raila's spokesperson Dennis Onyango dismissed Mudavadi's claims, saying they were based on ignorance.
“This is a homegrown solution where foreign nations had no role to play and Mudavadi didn’t know, and even now doesn’t know, what happened. In any case, the two leaders agreed to have the handshake before the then US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Nairobi to avoid a situation where it would be perceived the West had pushed them,” Onyango stated.
