Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli has lauded President William Ruto’s agreement to dialogue with opposition leader Raila Odinga.
The COTU boss who had beforehand ruled out the likelihood of him pushing for a handshake between Raila Odinga and President Ruto, said he knew the two leaders would ultimately agree to sit and iron out their issues.
“These are experienced leaders who understand Kenyan matters and I cannot act as the advisor of Raila Odinga, I can only be a follower of a political leader. Our president has been through his own political journey,” Atwoli stated on Monday, April 3.
“Although I did not know of it, I knew there was a point they would meet and talk and I am thankful for what they said yesterday,” the COTU boss added.
Moreover, Atwoli on Sunday called on the Azimio leader to accept that he lost the 2022 presidential bid to Ruto and stop leading protests calling for an audit of IEBC servers.
Likewise, Atwoli stated that Azimio’s loss will not prevent him from working with the Kenya Kwanza administration to represent the interests of his people.
Also Read: Ichung’wah Says Parliament is the Right Forum for Azimio
Nonetheless, President William Ruto on Sunday, April 2 called on Raila Odinga to cancel anti-government demonstrations which were to enter the fourth day on Monday, April 3.
The head of stated proposed talks with the Azimio leader towards a bipartisan parliamentary process in the recruitment of commissioners to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Formation of a new electoral body is one of the concerns the opposition had raised with President Ruto’s administration.
In response, the opposition leader Raila Odinga called off the bi-weekly demonstrations, saying the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition is ready for dialogue that will address the key issues they have raised.
However, Mr. Odinga noted that his coalition is ready to resume protests if “no meaningful outcome” is reached within a week.
“We emphasize that rights to assemble are anchored in our constitution, we reserve our rights to call for demos if there is no meaningful outcome. We will resume after one week,” he said.