Raila comes face to face with Uhuru, Ruto

Monday, 20 June 2011 00:03 BY SAMUEL OTIENO

REST IN PEACE: Kibaki, Raila, Saitoti, Uhuru and Joshua Ojode at the burial of Michael Ojode Otieno.

PRIME Minister Raila Odinga yesterday came face to face with his political arch rival William Ruto in Nyanza in a rare moment since their fallout. Graced by President Kibaki's presence, the burial of Assistant Minister Orwa Ojode’s father Mzee Michael Ojode was the venue for the PM to meet Ruto, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa. The three are, together with other presidential hopefuls, are jointly strategising to floor Raila in the 2012 elections.
Members of Ruto's and Uhuru’s camp were ferried to the late Ojode’s Ratanga home in one chopper that shuttled from Kisumu Airport in four trips.
In their speeches at the funeral, the rival political camps steered clear of politics instead making calls for national unity to spur economic growth. “Our country has immense potential. All we need is to embrace development. That can only be done through unity,” Uhuru said.
Even the Prime Minister, who at the weekend was crisscrossing the Rift Valley for support and defending himself from claims he is fighting Ruto, avoided politics.
Instead Raila urged politicians to rally for unity ahead of the next year’s general election, saying it was much more important than anything else. “Let us take advantage of the new constitution to develop and grow a united country," the PM said.
He said the full potential of the constitution will be realised after the 2012 elections and called on voters to thoroughly vet those seeking political office and ensure only individuals who pass the integrity test go through. “I want to tell our people today that the constitution we passed last year is very good. Its full potential will be realized after the elections,” Raila said.
Cabinet Ministers Otieno Kajwang, Prof George Saitoti and James Orengo were among 25 MPs  who attended the burial. But Orengo asked Raila’s rivals to allow the Prime Minister to succeed Kibaki in order to steer the country forward. “Most of these people planning to run are still recovering from their political pamper. It is time for people to reciprocate and let Raila succeed Kibaki,” Orengo said.
President Kibaki announced government development plans for the region, outlining a number of roads projects. “We are going to undertake a number of development projects in this region including the Magina-Pala-Rapogi, Migori-Muhuru roads and Mbita-Gwasi roads,” Kibaki said.
He announced the elevation of Migori Boys to a constituent college of University of Maseno. Ojode told Nyanza leaders to focus on development and not malicious gossip. “There are MPs here who keep saying that Ojode is not for Raila. Those are people who do not want the progress of the region. What they do is to spread gossip for purposes of destroying others. I want to announce here today that I have never abandoned Raila,” Ojode said.
Some MPs returning from the funeral took offence with Ojode's speech saying he had undermined them at the funeral. One MP said, "First he broke the protocol by calling Ruto after allowing ministers like Orengo to speak. He was typically out to undermine us at his father’s burial".