Emerging details indicate that former Premier Raila Odinga is the man behind the current friendship between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli.
Its worth noting that Uhuru and Magufuli were not in good terms when Magufuli came to power in 2015, which was followed by offensives on Kenya, including the burning of Kenyan chicks .
But it now emerges that after his truce with Uhuru in 2018, Raila has played a major role as the link between the two.
The deal, it is said, has been brokered by either crossing over to Tanzania or calling the no-nonsense Tanzanian Head of State from Kenya.
An insider of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader told the Nation that before Uhuru's visit of Tanzania on July 5, Raila had to prepare the way through a phonecall to Magufuli.
“A day before President Kenyatta went to Dar, Raila talked with Magufuli about the visit on phone. Again, after the President inspected ongoing works at the Kisumu port, Raila had passed by Dar,” he told the Nation.
He added that the three have also been meeting away from the public eye, with Raila's interest being making Kenya a regional maritime hub, which will need the Tanzanian approval.
In a show of friendliness, Uhuru last week sent Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma to return Sh100 gold confiscated in Kenya to Magufuli.
The gold was nabbed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) last year, after the importer flouted importation laws, after which Magufuli called back to confirm the receiving it.