Most of the demands being made by Azimio La Umoja leader Raila Odinga are secretly the demands of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah claims.
He alleges that Uhuru is the man controlling Raila from behind the scenes, and has been the one informing his u-turns regarding the ongoing talks between Azimio and the government.
The Kikuyu parliamentarian claims that Uhuru is the one behind Raila’s calls for talks similar to the ones between him and former President Mwai Kibaki after the disputed 2007 presidential elections.
He says that Uhuru was not happy with the shape the talks were taking and has directed Raila to push for a national accord kind of engagement. He has suggested that they are ready to give in to this demand and engage within those parameters.
“He [Raila] changed tune on April 3, probably after speaking with the sponsor. We hear the sponsor is not happy and that is why they want a national accord kind of engagement – which they call an extra-parliamentary process. We will still engage,” he has told The Star in an exclusive interview.
Ichung’wah says that they no longer see Raila as the main villain with regards to what he has been doing lately, having gathered that he is not the real man.
“It is not the people you see speaking but people who speak behind them. The sponsor is the problem in this,” he has said, at a time when the Kenya Kwanza side is accusing Uhuru of even funding the demos.
Ichung’wah says that the demands being made by the Azimio side are not about the well being of the ordinary Kenyan as is being said, but are just an avenue to help some leaders achieve their own goals.
“The cost of living was never the issue but their selfish ends and those of their sponsors. Many of our colleagues or even the opposition agree that some of the demands are not tenable,” he says.
