Mountain to host lake in reciprocal visit
Elders from the Luo community are expected to travel to Mt Kenya in response to the symbolic visit by their Kikuyu counterparts to Opposition chief Raila Odinga’s Bondo home in Siaya County at the weekend.
Nearly 700 elders, influential politicians and professionals descended on Bondo and endorsed the Building Bridges Initiative that is being speared-headed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila.
Politicians at the meeting which organisers said was meant to unite the Luo and the Kikuyu communities that have been political rivals for decades, drummed up support for Raila’s 2022 presidential ambitions.
Strengthen agreement
Kikuyu Council of Elders chairman Wachira Kiago and Nominated MP Maina Kamanda yesterday told People Daily that Luo leaders had been invited to Mt Kenya to strengthen agreements reached during the Bondo trip.
While in Bondo, the two groups signed a Memorandum of Understanding to unite the two communities. The Mt Kenya meeting is expected to be held in Nyeri.
“We will announce the day in due course. Ours is an initiative meant to unite the two communities for the sake of peace and harmony.
We want to restore our past ties when we worked in cooperation with members of the Luo community,” said Kiago.
“As a council, we will invite our leaders from Central Kenya to receive the delegation of our counterparts from Luo Nyanza,” he said.
Raila used the Bondo meeting to trace the relationship between his father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and Kenya’s founding President Jomo Kenyatta.
Raila told the gathering that Jaramogi criss-crossed the country calling for the release of Kenyatta who was imprisoned in Kapenguria with five other compatriots.
“The talks between the two sets of elders have been going on since the beginning of this year culminating in last weekend’s visit to Bondo.
The elders from the Luo community invited their counterparts from the central region,” said Kamanda.
“The Bondo meeting went on very well and we discussed matters affecting the two communities, we even had elders from other communities including King Mumia of the Wanga community from Western.
“There are also plans for elders from the Luo community to pay a reciprocal visit to Central Kenya but no definite date has been agreed upon,” noted the Nominated MP.
Imprisoned in Kapenguria
In Bondo, Siaya Senator James Orengo said the function reiterated his earlier statement that Raila will make a fifth stab at the Presidency
“What you are seeing here confirms we are working closely with our friends from the mountain to reach Canaan,” he said.
Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni said the country will find permanent peace if Luo and Kikuyu communities worked together.
Kiago said elders from the two communities signed an MoU which will see them work together, with the support of elected leaders from Mt Kenya who want to end political divisions that have strained the communities’ relations for years.
The elders warned members of the two communities and their leaders against going against the MoU, saying they risk facing unspecified consequences.
