Nyeri leaders dismiss handshake talks
Nyeri County leaders have declared that they will not accept any handshake-related talks between the government and the opposition.
Led by Nyeri Senator Wahome Wamatinga, MPs Eric Wamumbi and John Kaguchia, the leaders noted that the residents are eagerly waiting for confirmation of the same from President William Ruto during his tour in the Mt Kenya region where he was voted overwhelmingly during the last general elections
The leaders said that the government was democratically elected and therefore the handshake talks should not apply.
"I want to tell the President that elections were held in August last year and we won fair and square. There will be no handshake talks and in case there has to be talks then it should be on how to compensate the people who have lost their properties during the maandamano," Wamatinga said.
On his part, Mukurweini Member of Parliament John Kaguchia said that during the leaders' meeting that will be held on Tuesday at Sagana State Lodge, they will expect a major political statement.
"We expect an important political statement to be given indeed to solidify the kind of support the president has received in this region and also the kind of love the president has for the region," said Kaguchia.
Kaguchia said that he expects the meeting to be purely development-oriented owing to the fact that the government in power won fairly.
"We are not going to entertain those issues they are calling inclusivity through dialogue we cannot allow someone to come to the government to disrupt us," Kaguchia said.
Mathira MP Eric Wamumbi was categorical that the issue of dialogue will not feature in their meeting with the Head of State since dialogue is parliamentary-centred.
"Many people are eagerly waiting to hear about the handshake hearsay and I can assure you that there will be no handshake talks as they will be discussed in parliament. The talks at the State Lodge will be purely development-oriented," Wamumbi said.
On his part, EALA MP Kanini Kega said that it will be an opportune time to galvanize their unity as the Mt Kenya people and ensure that all the promises that were given are fulfilled.
On handshake, he said that it is time a long-term solution is looked into to avoid a repeat of the same thing after every election.
"We should look for a long-lasting solution because after every election, there is a team that feels they have been left out and I think it is because of the architecture of our constitution and those are some of the things we should revisit whether the presidential system is good for our country or we need to do a hybrid where the office of the opposition will be entrenched in the constitution," said Kanini.
