Gachagua blocked Tanzania President Suluhu’s attempt to broker Ruto-Raila talks: Junet

Junet Mohammed has revealed fresh details over the failed mediation talks between President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga that were to be carried out by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu in 2023.

In a media briefing at Parliament on Tuesday, August 11, Junet revealed that Ruto skipped the planned meeting despite Suluhu coming to the country and spending several days.

However, the Suna East MP alleged that former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua played a role in preventing Ruto from attending the meeting.

According to Junet, the meeting was planned at the Mount Kenya Safari Club in Nanyuki after President Samia took the initiative to mediate between Ruto and Raila following heightened political tensions and demonstrations led by the opposition.

Alongside Raila, Junet said he travelled to the venue where they met President Samia, and that Ruto was expected to join them the following day.

However, Junet claimed that while they were waiting for Ruto, the President called Samia and explained that Gachagua had threatened to resign as Deputy President if Ruto attended the meeting, forcing Ruto to skip the meeting altogether. 

“After the election, when we went to the demonstrations, when ODM went to the demonstrations and things were very bad, and the country was going to the docks,  the President of the Republic of Tanzania, on our own initiative, decided to come here and do arbitration between President Ruto and the former Prime Minister, my former party leader,” Junet stated.

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“When we were waiting for President Ruto the following day, President Ruto called President Suluhu, and he said that my deputy president, Rigathi Gachagua, has told me you cannot go to that meeting. If you go, I will resign as a deputy president. So he said I might end up coming to solve a crisis in Nanyuki, but I might create another crisis in my government,” he added.

Junet’s claims come years after Raila himself revealed that President Ruto had reached out to his Tanzanian counterpart for peace talks.

At the time, the former Prime Minister claimed Suluhu was kept waiting for a few days by Ruto without adequate explanation, which forced her to return to Tanzania.

“She attempted to mediate but she was kept waiting for days by the other side. Our side was ready and available for talks but the State refused to respond,” Raila told journalists on July 25, 2023.

The incident, Junet claimed, was among the reasons ODM leaders developed a strong opposition to Gachagua, accusing the former Deputy President of allegedly standing in the way of efforts to restore political stability.

“That is why ODM can never forgive Rigathi Gachagua because he wanted the destruction of ODM,” Junet alleged.

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