The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party has pleaded with its members to rally around their party leader Raila Odinga and give him utmost support as he helps shape the next phase of Kenya together with President Uhuru Kenyatta.

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Through a press statement released on Friday after Uhuru and Raila met, the party's secretary general Edwin Sifuna noted that finer details of the meeting will become clearer in the coming days and urged the members to remain patient in the meantime. 

Below is the full statement:

"In the history of nations, a handshake has often shaped the destiny of a people, more than guns and arrows, like it did when the great Nelson Mandela and F. De Klerk shook hands in South Africa in 1990, giving birth to the new South Africa.

It takes very brave men and women to know when to extend a hand of friendship, and when to seek the convergence of multi ethnic interests in order to unite a country.

Today, our President Raila Odinga extended that hand to Uhuru Kenyatta, and the two have indicated they seek a more inclusive path to national healing and integration.

It behoves us in the party to rally around our leader and give him utmost support as he helps shape the next phase of our nation, together with H.E Kenyatta. The finer details and the scope of this cooperation will become clearer in the coming days, so we request for patience from party members in the interim period.

We however unequivocally hail the bravery and wisdom of President Odinga in putting the country before all else, and choosing to extend a hand of friendship in broad daylight, rather than in secret. We call upon party members to heed the call of our leader and support him in this endeavour.

ODM's key aspirations and development pillars will remain alive and on course all through this period. Indeed, our biggest strength will rely heavily on our ability to push through most of our blueprints in this united front. Our people and their dreams remain paramount, and this we shall mainstream at all times.

Signed.

Edwin Sifuna

Secretary General

Orange Democratic Movement."