This archive report was first published on 26 November 2019.
On 9th March 2018, Kenya was on the brink of a political crisis after a disputed presidential re-run, with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga swearing himself in as President at Uhuru Park.
However, in a shocking turn of events, Raila and President Uhuru Kenyatta met in secret for 19 hours, negotiating a deal that would calm the political temperatures and pave the way for the country's stability.
According to Raila, the two leaders drove themselves individually to the secret venue, where they engaged in a lengthy discussion.
The 'handshake' deal, also known as the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), proposed the reintroduction of the Prime Minister's position and far-reaching electoral changes.
On 26th November 2019, Raila spoke about the deal at State House, Nairobi, where he addressed 100 leaders and selected personalities present when Uhuru received the BBI report.
During the meeting, Raila took the audience through the history of BBI and the Handshake, while President Uhuru Kenyatta appealed to leaders to go easy on politics.
Uhuru corroborated Raila's story, stating that he had never had an honest and insightful conversation with anyone else like he had with Raila Odinga.
