Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju has claimed that Deputy President William Ruto was the first person to approach ODM party leader Raila Odinga before the handshake deal with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Speaking in an interview with a local radio station, the Jubilee SG stated that the DP wanted to join forces with Raila so that they could blackmail the President.
However, Tuju disclosed that Uhuru got wind of DP Ruto's moves and entered a deal with Raila resulting to the March 2018 handshake.
"He was the first person to approach Raila Odinga so that they blackmail President Uhuru. The President got wind of his moves and averted the plans," Tuju said.
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In an interview with Citizen TV in April 2019, DP Ruto claimed that Raila approached him four times before he went ahead to engage Uhuru.
The DP said he declined to hold talks with the former premier on all the alleged occasions, adding that he duly informed Uhuru on the same.
"I did not believe that he was doing this in good faith. Before Raila Odinga engaged President Uhuru Kenyatta on the handshake, he engaged me. Raila Odinga approached me on four occasions to have a discussion and I declined to engage him for two reasons
“In Jubilee, we have one central command. Uhuru Kenyatta is the party leader and president and we all refer to him. If there is any engagement with anybody on matters of politics it has to start with President Kenyatta. For every approach that was made by Raila Odinga to me, I informed the President. I personally told him I will not engage Raila Odinga," Ruto said.
