Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga have met and agreed to unite the East African nation after months of a political stalemate that threatened to tear the country apart following a fractious general election in 2017.
Kenyatta said the two leaders had agreed to close ranks and put the elections behind them and begin the process of national healing and reconciliation.
Odinga has called on Kenyans to back the unity bid, warning that failure to do this would sink the country. This is the first official meeting between the two.
The two leaders emerged from the meeting side by side – this meeting came just hours before US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Kenya for a state visit.
Odinga set the tone for the outcome of the surprise meeting.
Kenya has been deeply divided following General Elections, while Kenyatta and his supporters say he was validly elected, Odinga and his supporters have refused to recognize the victory.
In January, Odinga took the oath as the people’s president.
The leaders agreed to put an end to political differences that have divided the country since independence.
Only time will tell whether the two sons of Kenya’s founding fathers succeed where their fathers failed.
Watch the full press briefing:
