Saturday, April 8, 2023 – Retired Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers have warned President William Ruto not to accept Azimio Leader Raila Odinga’s handshake during the bipartisan talks.
Drawing from their experience in the armed forces, the soldiers collectively argued that a handshake was not healthy for the country and should be rejected by all means.
They, however, supported Ruto’s move to hold bipartisan talks with Raila through parliament, saying that is the way to go.
“We advise that hardline stances are not healthy, if they take root at a time like this, they will bring turbulence and increase political temperatures.
“We support the bipartisan approach but we do not support a handshake. Handshake, in our experience as retired soldiers, is a poison to any democracy,” they noted in a statement.
They urged the President to resist all attempts to form a handshake government while nudging the opposition to drop ‘handshake’-like demands.
According to the group, Azimio La Umoja is hell-bent on forming a ‘handshake’ government.
The soldiers further added that a handshake agreement hampers multiparty democracy and that it is not envisioned in the Constitution.
The Kenyan DAILY POST.