Nairobi, KENYA – President William Ruto on Wednesday met Tanzania President Samia Suluhu. This is amid claims that Ruto snubbed her while she was in Kenya for two days, two weeks ago.
The heads of State met on the sidelines of the Africa heads of State summit on human capital in Dar es Salaam.
On Tuesday, Opposition leader Raila Odinga claimed that President Suluhu was in Kenya two weeks ago to mediate talks between him and Ruto.
However, Raila claimed that Suluhu was left hanging for the two days she was in the country, and no mediation talks took place.
“Samia Suliuhu came here two weeks ago at the invitation of President Ruto to mediate, but she was kept waiting not from our side, we were available, but the other side was not available. She spent two nights here and it was all in vain. Other people have tried but he’s the one who’s resisting. I am ready to sit with other people to discuss these issues,” he said during the interview with the International Press Association of East Africa.
However, neither President Ruto nor the government has responded to the allegations.
But the House spokesperson Hussein Mohammed has denied that Tanzania President Samia Suluhu came to Kenya to mediate over the impasse between President William Ruto and Raila Odinga.
Mohammed on Wednesday responded to the allegations insinuating there was no official invitation to Suluhu.
He also intimated that the Tanzanian President could have been in Kenya on holiday if the claims are true.
The State House spokesperson said for every president who comes to Kenya, there are established protocols handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“So, they will communicate and they handle all the protocols. Of course, they will know that a president or visiting Head of State has come to meet the President.
“But that is not to say a president can come to our country or cannot come to our country for a holiday or whatever,” Mohammed said.
He said for all presidents that have come to meet President Ruto, it has been documented.
“We have all seen that several heads of state have come to meet the President through established protocols in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Hio ingine, ndugu yangu, aliyesema alikua hapa, (Those other allegations, my brother, the one who said she was here) I think that that is the best person to address that question,” Mohamed said.
He was responding to a question posed by a journalist after his press briefing about President Ruto’s five-day tour of the Coast region.
Discussion about this post