William Ruto Confirms Holding Private Meeting With Raila Odinga, Discloses Details: "We've Agreed"

• President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga held a private meeting to resolve their long-standing differences
• The meeting followed Azimio la Umoja's anti-government protests, which caused disruptions and loss of lives
• The president emphasized that leaders should not spearhead protests resulting in violence and destruction

President William Ruto has confirmed holding a private meeting with ODM leader Raila Odinga to resolve their long-standing political stalemate.

Coming at the back of Azimio la Umoja's anti-government protests, which have been bringing many towns to a standstill and leading to the loss of lives, the president said he and the Opposition leader had a one-on-one to iron out their differences.

Speaking on Sunday, July 30, the president also revealed details of the secret talks with the Opposition bigwig, in which they both agreed to bring to an end the deadly protests which left a trail of destruction in its wake.

"That is why I met the leader of the Opposition leader other and other leaders from the faction. I told them we are a democratic country guided by the law. We agreed no leader, whether past, present or future, should spearhead protests that lead to deaths and destruction of property," he said in a video shared by TV47.

Ruto said he and Raila agreed to arbitrate their issues in a democratic manner.

A report by NTV indicated that the two leaders met at a Mombasa hotel on the night of Friday, July 28.

Azimio-Kenya Kwanza fresh mediation talks

On Saturday, July 29, Azimio and Kenya Kwanza stated their commitment to engage on issues pertinent to the nation after a bout of push and pull culminating in deadly anti-government protests.

One-time Nigeria president and pan-Africanist Olusegun Obasanjo will facilitate the dialogue.

A ten-member committee will therefore be set up for the purposes of the mediation between the sides under the stewardship of Obasanjo.

Azimio clarifies cost of living is still priority

However, according to the statement, the high cost of living, which Azimio premised their demonstrations on, was conspicuously missing from the agenda.

This sparked mixed reactions as many Kenyans called out the Opposition faction, questioning whether the Raila Odinga-led faction used the current economic crisis to get the government's attention.

However, the Opposition has since insisted that the cost of living remains its priority in the forthcoming mediation discussions.

"Cognizant of the crisis of living bedevilling the nation with many Kenyans under the pump, our coalition cannot at the very least even countenance a conversation involving the establishment of positions not contemplated by our constitution," a part of its communique indicated.