Insider reveals Uhuru’s immediate reaction after it became apparent Ruto was winning
Uhuru called all Azimio leaders into a meeting shortly after it became apparent Ruto was winning with Raila losing in the August polls
Uhuru called all Azimio leaders into a meeting shortly after it became apparent Ruto was winning with Raila losing in the August polls.
In an interview with local media on Tuesday, January 24, Jubilee Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni divulged that Uhuru made clear his intention to oversee a peaceful handover to President William Ruto despite his firm stance in supporting Raila in the polls.
The former President, according to Kioni, had sworn to make sure that there would be no bloodshed as a result of the very polarizing election process.
At a time when the country was eagerly awaiting results, Kioni disclosed that the former President made the decision to uphold the law despite the objections voiced by his coalition regarding the transparency of the voting process.
“Of course, he had his preferred candidate but even when the preferred candidate was not announced by IEBC or the Supreme Court, the first thing he did was to call us and tell us that we will still hand over power,” Kioni said.
“What goes through a mind of a President is unknown to us because we have never been (presidents) but you could imagine because our engagements with him were always that he did not want a single drop of blood because of this election. So whatever it will take, we must do it.”
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Kioni acknowledges that the handover did not mean that the rival side had conceded defeat, but he also says that his party is proud of having managed a peaceful transfer of power.
He added that Uhuru Kenyatta had been informed of intentions to jeer and heckle him at the Kasarani Stadium but insisted that he would still come up to fulfill his commitment.
“He actually confirmed that he would go to Kasarani. He knew that they would insult him and heckle but he was determined to do the right thing,” he stated.
Kioni’s revelation came at a time when Uhuru’s position as the Chairman of the Azimio Coalition, was not clear among Kenyans.
Following his retirement in September 2022, Kenyatta chose to focus more on his duties as Kenya’s Special Envoy to the East and Central African region and stepped back from commenting about matters of concern to his Azimio Coalition.
Some members of Azimio had questioned Uhuru’s involvement in the election and blamed him for Raila’s defeat in his fifth bid for the president.
However, Kioni maintained that he was still an active part of the coalition and was yet to approve Ruto’s presidency.
Also read,
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