Former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka on Thursday defended the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga amid questions from a number of politicians.
Speaking at the University of Nairobi, Musyoka said the union between the two has brought about relative peace, adding that there is a need for Kenyans to embrace handshake.
Uhuru and Raila reunited in March 2018 after months of political violence that saw several people die following alleged brutality by the police.
According to the Wiper Party leader, the handshake has opened businesses in the country, with many Kenyans getting jobs due to peace and tranquillity.
"I applaud Hon. Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta for the handshake. It resulted in peace and now businessmen can operate freely and employ more people," he said as quoted in a tweet.
ANC party leader Musalia Mudavadi told a gathering of Kenyans in the diaspora that some Western countries threatened to cancel visas for opposition leaders and their associates unless they entered into a political deal.
Without disclosing the Western countries, Mudavadi said the visa bans were targeting opposition leaders, their spouses, children, and their relatives.
“The secret is that slowly visas were being cancelled. And when Visas are cancelled, they don’t just cancel yours alone. They cancel yours, that of your wife, children, and relatives,” he was quoted by the Standard.
Addressing a meeting at Muungano SDA Church in New Jersey on Tuesday evening, the ANC leader said the handshake was prescribed a condition to regain the visas.
“I want you to go home knowing that I, Musalia, do not believe in cheating you. I believe in telling you the truth. So what gave birth to a handshake is personal survival rather than patriotism,” he noted.