Raila Junior: How Ruto approached me with plum job offer
Raila Junior, the last born son of ODM leader Raila Odinga, has spilled beans of his abortive’handshake’ deal with deputy president William Ruto.
This comes just hours after Dr Ruto claimed that the opposition leader had approached him four times before the March 2018 handshake deal with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Raila Junior on Wednesday morning promised on Twitter to issue a clarification on Dr Ruto’s comments made in an interview on Citizen TV.
In subsequent tweets,Junior accused Dr Ruto of trying to bribe him and his sister Winnie with plum jobs in government.
GOVERNMENT POSITIONS
According to Junior, Ruto sent a senior ambassador to them with enticing government positions. The young Odingas told the ambassador to speak to their father.
“The truth is that in January 2018 he tried to entice @winnie_odinga and I with high level government positions, a kind of divide n rule tactic using a very senior Ambasador to put pressure but obviously we told him to F off and talk to the source. #WakiropokaTunatoboa,” Junior tweeted.
Dr Ruto’s communication director Emmanuel Talam advised Junior not to learn from his father.
“Consider learning from someone else not the ODM leader. His never works. Won’t work for you.”
ODM communication director Philip Etale called out Dr Ruto for lying on national television.
Mr Etale said it was Jubilee party leader President Kenyatta who approached Mr Odinga.
“Mr. DP on @RailaOdinga approaching you, you are lying. He has never had time for you. He will never have it either. Stop FAKE NEWS Sir,” Mr Etale tweeted.
DIFFERENT VERSION
Etale went on to dish out a different version of the events that preceded the handshake.
“The truth of the matter is; it is the President who looked for @RailaOdinga for a meeting that culminated into the handshake. Raila never ever sought to meet Ruto. He has never planned to do that and he will never do.”
Mr Odinga had in a previous interview in July 10, 2018 narrated how President Kenyatta approached him for the handshake deal.
“We first had preliminary talks on how to conduct the final talks. I gave my demands and he accepted that I will meet him alone. He also insisted that the Nasa co-principals are excluded and kept in the dark…President Kenyatta asked me to leave out my brother Mr Musyoka from the talks, after I also demanded that his deputy William Ruto be excluded as well, which he agreed. I insisted that I don’t want to talk to those people who wanted us to discuss 2022. He (Uhuru) said he will not come with Ruto but also asked that I don’t come with Kalonzo,” said Odinga.