Jubilee denies pact with Ruto after Cabinet nominations

 
Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni has reiterated that the party remains firmly in the opposition, saying the recent development doesn’t represent the faction’s position.
His statement follows the nomination of several Jubilee-affiliated members to the Cabinet, a move that has sparked speculation about the party’s alignment.
The nominations came just days after a high-profile meeting between President William Ruto and former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“Jubilee we are in opposition. We are where our party leader told William Ruto to… develop the economy,” he said during a press conference on Monday.
Kioni’s clarification came days after former Prime Minister Raila Odinga defended the Uhuru-Ruto meeting saying the two leaders only greeted each other, and that would only amount to a handshake if they announced it themselves.
On the appointment of Uhuru’s allies to government, Raila , who spoke on Friday, insisted that it was out of the need to form an all-inclusive government that Ruto pick people from the Jubilee party to join his Cabinet.
“Uhuru just greeted Ruto. They never said that this is a handshake that they are going to work together,” he said.
“Ruto said that he wanted to form a government that is representative of the rest of the country, and he got some people from ODM, and now he got some people from Jubilee to join his government. That in itself is not a handshake; it’s just broadening his government.”
He went on to explain that President Ruto is only a mission to win back the support of the Mt Kenya region, came out to explain why he met the retired President after years of a strained relationship.
He said he met with Uhuru to find common ground for future collaboration.een a handshake, it would have been as a result of a signed agreement, which would be made public by Uhuru and Ruto.
“If there is any handshake, it would be on the basis of things that have been negotiated and agreed on, and it will be announced formally that we have now come to an agreement; this is what we are going to implement,” he said.
Ruto and Uhuru met earlier in the month at the latter’s Gatundu home, where they discussed matters of national interest.