State House sidesteps Raila's claim on Suluhu visit
President William Ruto, in Tanzania for a human capital meeting to harmonise the expansion of employment opportunities in Africa, paid a courtesy call to President Samia Suluhu at State House in Dar es Salaam.
The government has sidestepped the alleged visit by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu to the country two weeks ago.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga had on Tuesday said that an attempt by a neighbouring head of state to mediate over the dispute proved futile, even as he accused President William Ruto of “resisting” talks.
In an interview with the international press in Nairobi, Mr Odinga detailed how President William Ruto invited his Tanzania counterpart, Samia Suluhu, to broker a truce only to give her a wide berth when she arrived.
“Let me say this, there have been attempts… the Tanzanian president came here two weeks ago at the invitation of President Ruto to mediate and he kept her waiting. Our side was available but the other side (Kenya Kwanza) was not available,” he stated while fielding questions from journalists attached to international media outlets.
He went on: “She slept for two nights and it was all in vain. Other people have also tried and right now, I know other people are trying and he (Ruto) is the one resisting.”
But State House spokesman Hussein Mohamed failed to offer a straightforward answer when queried on the claims by Mr Odinga.
Mr Mohamed said: " Kila Rais ambaye anakuja (every president who visits) Kenya, or any President that comes to meet the President of Kenya, there are established protocols with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. So they will communicate, and they will handle all the protocols, and of course, we will know a visiting Head of State has come to meet the President of the Republic of course that is not to say a President cannot come to a country for a holiday of whatever."
He went on: "But for all the Presidents that have come to meet the President of Kenya, it has been documented, we have all seen that several Heads of State have come to meet the President of Kenya through established protocols with the Ministry of affairs hiyo ingine ndugu yangu aliyesema alikuwa hapa (the rest my brother, whoever said she was here) I think that's the best person to address that question to."
