Kenyatta and Odinga shake hands, shocking Kenya’s people and politicians
Nairobi — It was a handshake that drew a line under Kenya’s bruising election, left many people bewildered, and swung open the starting gate for the 2022 presidential race. After months of insults during a deadly and divisive election, the two heirs of Kenya’s most powerful political dynasties, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his rival Raila Odinga stood side by side, shook hands and pledged reconciliation. Even in a country used to the political game of thrones, where betrayals are commonplace and bitter rivals forge alliances almost overnight, the gesture on March 9 stunned the nation. "This is clearly Odinga’s attempt to move on. Obviously Kenyatta would favour that as well," said Nic Cheeseman, a professor at Birmingham University in central England, of the mystery-shrouded rapprochement. Kenya’s presidential election in August plunged the country into turmoil, after Kenyatta’s victory was annulled by the country’s supreme court, citing flaws in the process, which ordered a re-run....
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