Handshake will produce next president, claims Atwoli
Trade unionist Francis Atwoli has said the political union between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Opposition leader Raila Odinga will produce the next president.
The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) secretary general said the deal reached between the two leaders and sealed by the March 9, 2018 Handshake, effectively locks out Deputy President William Ruto from victory in the 2022 election.
“2022 lies in the hands of the Handshake team and whoever they will nominate will become the president of this country.
Also Read:
Even though many people, including the DP may decide to be on the ballot, the eventual winner would be from the Handshake team,”Atwoli said during a TV interview on Wednesday night.
Atwoli, who is one of Ruto’s harshest critics, warned that electing the DP to succeed Uhuru would be a costly mistake.
“If Kenyans elect the DP as president, they will regret. That will be the beginning of maisha mbaya,” said Atwoli.
He, however, maintained he has no personal problem with the DP saying Ruto needs to seek counsel from experienced politicians for him to ascend to power.
“He is a good politician who can go places but requires an experienced adviser,” Atwoli said.
The relationship between the President and his deputy has grown increasingly frosty.
This has prompted Uhuru to engineer a purge that has seen Ruto’s key allies thrown out of key positions in the Senate. Despite the onslaught, the DP has maintained silence.
“I would tell the DP to look for his old friends like Cyrus Jirongo and Sam Nyamweya and talk to them,” he said, referring to Ruto’s former comrades in the Youth for Kanu ‘92, a lobby group that campaigned for President Daniel arap Moi’s re-election in 1992.
Atwoli claims the rain started beating Ruto when he appeared to outshine Uhuru in public.
“Anywhere in the world, you cannot outshine your boss and expect to succeed him. As a principal assistant, you must always wait to be assigned responsibilities.
This man Ruto has assigned himself responsibilities that are not his and he had to be cut into size,”Atwoli said.
