Sources divulged to The Weekly Vision how Azimio still insists that the IEBC Servers be opened, they claim that is the only way of resolving the political impasse in the country. According to sources in Azimio, should the figures contained in the servers confirm that William Ruto won the presidency fairly, then they will take their rightful place as the official opposition. However, should the same servers confirm that Raila Odinga won the presidency, then William Ruto must vacate office
The return to Kenya of US Senator Christopher Coons at a time when President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga are embroiled in a serious political contest, speaks volumes of just how dire the situation is in the country. Senator Coons is the spine doctor who led a delegation from the US that mediated the differences between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga, leading to the now famous “Handshake” deal of March 9th, 2018.
Senator Coons is US President Joe Biden’s close ally and was once one of the top contenders to be Joe Biden’s Secretary of State before the president settled on Mr Anthony Blinken. He has been involved in brokering peace deals in Africa before including Ethiopia in 2021. It should be noted that after William Ruto was declared President, the Senator was in Kenya and met both Raila Odinga and William Ruto.
Speculation is rife in the country that despite the chest-thumping, intimidation and threats from the Kenya Kwanza brigade against Azimio, a power-sharing deal is in the offing. Although details of the talks between Raila and Coons remain scanty, sources claim that the discussion was purely on the political situation in the country.
Sources divulged to The Weekly Vision how Azimio still insists that the IEBC Servers be opened, they claim that is the only way of resolving the political impasse in the country. According to sources in Azimio, should the figures contained in the servers confirm that William Ruto won the presidency fairly, then they will take their rightful place as the official opposition. However, should the same servers confirm that Raila Odinga won the presidency, then William Ruto must vacate office. The position Raila Odinga and Azimio have taken is similar to the 2017 situation, where even the Krigler-led commission said they don’t know who won the elections between Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki.
Under such circumstances, there is every possibility that Senator Coons could be getting a strong word from Washington that the servers should be opened or that both camps share power. Both Raila Odinga and William Ruto have always pointed out that there will be no power-sharing. But considering the political influence the US wields across the world, Washington can force the unthinkable to happen, which is to push for power sharing and form a government of national unity. Other sources now claim that Raila Odinga has openly told his team tasked with brokering a political deal at Bomas of Kenya that he is better off taking up the position of opposition leader that is entrenched in the constitution than sharing the government with William Ruto.
A majority of Raila’s allies think that they should share the government instead of leaving William Ruto to mismanage the country, while some of his allies believe that their leader should just swallow his pride and take up the position of official opposition with a full shadow cabinet. Kenya Kwanza sources divulged that President Ruto is under pressure from Washington to be open to both proposals; including power sharing and the formation of a powerful official opposition leaders’ slot entrenched in the constitution.
The big question is: what are the consequences if both teams fail to agree? The international community can order sanctions against Ruto’s administration, including the withholding of loans and foreign aid. When such sanctions are taken against a country, the economy suffers; the government cannot manage to operate normally without foreign aid and loans from international lenders, including the World Bank.
Aware that such sanctions will have serious effects on the economy, President Ruto is most likely to swallow his pride and agree on a power-sharing deal with the opposition. Kenyans might yet have another Grand Coalition Government with the position of Prime Minister created and two deputies. In such an arrangement, it could force William Ruto to drop half of his cabinet to make room for Azimio appointees or amend the constitution to increase the number of ministries to accommodate Azimio appointees.
However, the most likely thing is the creation of the office of the official opposition, complete with a shadow cabinet funded by the exchequer. With the Bomas of Kenya bipartisan talks expected to gain momentum this week, Kenyans are eagerly waiting to see if the opposing sides will finally agree on the agenda of engagement, more so Azimio’s demand that servers must be opened.
