Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s presence at the memorial of Kenya's founding president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta should not be taken for granted by Kenyan voters, former Kitutu Masaba MP Mwancha Okioma has said.
Both President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila have been involved in a fierce political rivalry that has pitted the two families against each other for decades.
But on Monday, the two leaders shared a podium during the memorial service of the late president who died 38 years ago.
And speaking after Raila visited the Kenyatta family, Okioma challenged voters to live in harmony regardless of their political affiliations.
“We are a society with people of different political and social–economic ideologies and that should never be the reason why we should turn against one another during elections because this is a single day exercise that will come and go,” he noted.
“Raila’s visit to the Kenyatta family is a good gesture which would ease political temperatures. We can differ ideologically but still remain united. That was a challenge even to me as a leader and I encourage Kenyans to learn from it,” he added.
Okioma challenged the two leaders to embrace dialogue when solving serious issues to avoid creating divisions among Kenyans.
“These two most influential leaders and whenever they work together, as supporters we see a sense in it. Time has come for this country to play first class politics and that started with the meeting of the two leaders,” he concluded.