Kenyan opposition supporters reject end of political strife, brand Odinga betrayer

Kenyan opposition supporters and some key members have rejected the reconciliation between National Super Alliance (NASA) leader Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday.

The two rivals jointly addressed the country on national TV after their first public meeting in Nairobi since last year’s polls pledging to unite and begin a reconciliation process.

This unexpected turn of events came hours before the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who is touring the African continent to strengthen security alliances.

For key NASA member Miguna Miguna who was illegally deported to Canada after chairing the swearing-in of Raila Odinga as “people’s president” in January, Odinga’s reconciliation with Kenyatta was “unilateral, irrational and erratic.”

Miguna said in a statement that “ the ‘reconciliation’ between Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila is a fundamental betrayal of the hundreds of innocent Kenyans who have lost their lives fighting for democracy and in defense of Raila Odinga’s stolen electoral victories of 2007, 2013 and 2017.”

“True reconciliation of Kenyans is not about two people shaking hands but building a just and equal society governed by the rule of law, respect for human rights and an end to corruption and tribalism,” he added.

Miguna condemned Odinga for taking the reconciliatory path while he remains in Canada against his will because he swore him in. “I will return to Kenya on March 26, 2018 so as to continue the struggle for electoral justice and the culture of impunity that both Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta now represent,” he stated on his Facebook page.

Believed to be a PR stunt, the meeting between the two rivals follows months of political standoff since the annulled presidential election in August. There was an election re-run in October which was boycotted by NASA.

They embarked on weeks of demonstration after the election won by President Kenyatta. Hundreds of people were arrested and about 150 people were killed in the post-election dispute.

Here are comments from a cross-section of Kenyans on Twitter who expressed diverse views about the reconciliation talks.