The publication reported that President William Ruto and Raila Odinga, once bitter rivals, have now joined forces, addressing each other with affectionate terms like "brother" and displaying a newfound camaraderie.

This marks a significant shift from their previous dynamic, as just two years ago, they were locked in a fierce political battle, frequently exchanging sharp and public criticisms.

During their time as political adversaries, Ruto referred to Raila as a mganga (witch doctor), accused him of neglecting church attendance, and branded him a "lord of poverty" in Kenya.

In response, Raila portrayed Ruto as corrupt, unethical, and devoid of moral principles or shame.

Their animosity reached a peak in July 2022 when Raila declined to share a stage with Ruto during a presidential debate, asserting that his opponent lacked basic integrity and that granting him a platform would be a grave error.

Initially allies as leaders of the ODM party, their relationship fractured after Raila played a key role in Ruto's removal from the Cabinet in the wake of the maize scandal.

Tensions escalated further in 2018 when former President Uhuru Kenyatta brought Raila into his administration through a symbolic handshake and launched the Building Bridges Initiative, aimed at constitutional reforms to accommodate Raila's political aspirations.

As per the paper, the key motivations behind the recent agreement between Ruto and Raila was to prevent Raila from rekindling ties with his former allies in the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition.

These allies had been urging him to join their efforts in opposing the Kenya Kwanza administration.

"There were significant interests at play; even former president Kenyatta invited him for a meeting at the Coast. To prevent such overtures, we had to finalize the deal to ensure Raila would not be swayed by others," a confidential source familiar with the negotiations revealed,

The Ruto team also reportedly viewed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as a strategic move ahead of a planned Cabinet reshuffle, which is expected to include more of

Raila’s allies. According to the source, the list of Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries was finalised during Ruto’s meeting with Raila in Mombasa.

Another critical element of the deal involved Raila reassuring his supporters, whom he had promised to update on his plans this week.

While touring the country to “consult” with his base, Raila assured them that his decisions would prioritize the interests of all Kenyans.

Raila disclosed that upon his return from the unsuccessful AU Commission bid, he was presented with a pre-drafted document to sign at State House, Mombasa. However, he insisted on consulting his supporters before committing.

"I found the document had already been prepared, but I said I won’t sign until I consult my people. That is when I went to Kisumu, Homa Bay, Mombasa, Wajir, Kisii, Narok, and Nairobi to talk to the people," Raila explained.

According to the Swahili publication, three bodies have been recovered so far in Lake Turkana following an attack carried out by individuals suspected to be militiamen from the Dassenech community of neighbouring Ethiopia against Kenyan herders, fishermen, and traders.

The attack, which occurred a few weeks ago on February 22, targeted the border villages of Lotiira and Lopeimukat.

Affected families reported that more than 40 people remain unaccounted for since the attack.

Additionally, 47 boats, fishing nets, 556 fishing tools, one motorcycle, and one rifle belonging to a National Police Reservist are still missing.

"So far, three bodies have been recovered, along with nine boats and 122 fishing nets. The search and rescue operation is ongoing, with 38 people still missing," said George Orina, Deputy County Commissioner of North Turkana.

The daily reports that the Court of Appeal issued an injunction preventing the government from proceeding with measures to allow the importation of genetically modified (GM) crops and foods.

This decision came after appellate judges Patrick Kiage, Weldon Korir, and Joel Ngugi reviewed an appeal submitted by advocate Paul Mwangi and the Kenya Peasants League.

The court directed that the government, including the Attorney General, the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary, the Education Cabinet Secretary, the National Biosafety Authority, the Cabinet, the Ministry of Health, and the Association of Kenya Feeds Manufacturers, must halt any further actions related to the Cabinet dispatch dated October 3, 2022. This dispatch had initially lifted the ban on GM foods.

"We are persuaded that the public interest is served by issuing limited conservatory orders aimed at maintaining the status quo while being sensitive to the policy issues," the bench said.

The judges concluded that considering the significant issues at stake, it was necessary to issue the order to preserve the current situation until the appeal is fully resolved.

Source: TUKO.co.ke