Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has revealed that it was late businessman Chris Kirubi who convinced him into a political deal with retired President Mwai Kibaki following the disputed 2007 presidential election.
Raila said that Kirubi alongside another individual he did not mention approached him and managed to convince him to meet Kibaki.
The former Prime Minister spoke on Friday during the memorial service of the late business magnate at Faith Evangelistic Ministry in Karen in Nairobi.
According to Raila, the meeting between him, Kirubi and the unnamed person led to the Sagana meeting with Kibaki which ended the deadly violence that followed the 2007 presidential elections results.
Image: LUKE AWICH
“Among the two people who approached me to have dialogue was Chris Kirubi…the other one I cannot reveal,” Raila said.
The ODM leader said it was after the meeting with Kirubi that a meeting was organised between Kibaki and himself at Sagana which ended one of the worst bloodshed in the country’s history.
“Arrangements were made for this meeting in Sagana, eventually an agreement was reached,” he said.
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka who was also present at the service also revealed that it was Kirubi who negotiated for his vice president slot in 2008.
Image: TWITTER/KALONZO MUSYOKA
Musyoka said the businessman approached him after the bungled presidential elections in 2007 and told him; “Kalonzo, don’t be stupid. You have to rise and save your country.”
“He came to my house in 2008 with Peter Munga and the reason was simple, you have to act in a manner that will save our country.”
“That is how I become the 10th vice President of this country,” the Wiper leader added.
Kalonzo ran for president in the 2008 polls on an ODM-Kenya ticket and finished third after former President Mwai Kibaki and ODM Raila Odinga.
Kalonzo eulogized Kirubi as a wonderful Kenyan and a statesman who was one of our main captains in the industry.
“He wanted to compete with the West in real-time,” he said.
Kirubi’s burial is set for Saturday at his farm in Thika. The burial ceremony will begin at 11 am.
Kirubi, 80, died on June 14, 2021, at his home after a long battle with cancer.
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