President William Ruto has been counselled to consider accommodating all like-minded leaders in his working pact with former prime minister Raila Odinga.
Ruto and Raila's new-found friendship after a long run of political rivalry culminated in a pact they formally agreed on.
Speaking in Uasin Gishu on Sunday, March 9, where he attended a church service, Alego Usonga MP Sam Atandi noted that the two leaders' union was good for the country and was working to heal the political intolerance that has ailed the country for long.
He asked Ruto to consider bringing Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka on board.
"As I was present when you are signing that document with Baba (Raila Odinga). I thought about many things. Your Excellency, and because the message was that we are fostering the social, economic and political prosperity of our country. I wanted to urge Your Excellency that you should not leave anyone behind. I know there are many leaders out there that are still out there. They are talking, they are saying maybe the president is only interested in a few people. I wanted to urge you, and as I said yesterday in a function, that even our brother, this Wiper guy (Kalonzo Musyoka), we need to bring him on board, Your Excellency. We need to bring everybody on board. This journey for the prosperity and unity of our country should be for everybody," Atandi said.
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But even as Atandi lobbies for Kalonzo, the Wiper leader had earlier expressed his reservations on the deal.
He said that Raila had betrayed Kenyans by agreeing to the pact.
Speaking at the People Dialogue Festival on Friday, March 7, Kalonzo warned that the outfit would still be rejected by Kenyans owing to the policies of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
He added that it would be a betrayal if Raila fails to push for the government to compensate Kenyans who were killed and injured during the Finance Bill protests in 2023 and 2024.
His statement came after Raila and Ruto oversaw the signing of a 10-point MoU between ODM and UDA at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC).
As detailed in the deal, the two parties will work to implement the NADCO report and address issues such as unemployment and corruption while pushing for initiatives to strengthen devolution.
