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Tension As Raila, Ruto, Uhuru Meet in Kisii

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Published on Wednesday, 23 November 2011 02:30

Three leading presidential aspirants on Friday came face to face at a funeral in Kisii and promised to ensure the next elections are peaceful. Tension was evident as Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Deputy PM Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto shared a dais at Borangi SDA Primary School during the burial of former Central Bank of Kenya deputy governor Hezron Nyangito. Mr Odinga was the first to arrive at the venue followed closely by Mr Kenyatta. Five minutes later, Mr Ruto arrived.

The PM and Mr Kenyatta, who sat next to each other, shook hands and chatted happily. Faces of Mr Odinga and Mr Ruto were however expressionless as they shook hands before the Eldoret North MP proceeded to sit a few chairs away from the PM. Mr Odinga expressed confidence that he will be elected the next president in 2012. He said that the country will never experience the post election violence like it did in 2007 as a credible electoral body has been put in place to manage the polls. "This time I am going to score. It is not going to be an offside like the last elections ," he said as he called for peace in the country ahead of the polls. Mr Kenyatta, who sat next to Mr Odinga, only read President Kibaki's speech in which the Head of State said the late Nyangito had left a gap that will be impossible to fill. Mr Ruto said the Kisii and Kalenjin communities living along the Nyanza-Rift valley border must co-exist peacefully. "We must forgive each other for past wrongs ," he said. Former minister Simeon Nyachae also spoke but steered clear of politics. Cabinet ministers Chris Obure, Sam Ongeri and James Orengo were among senior officials who attended the funeral.