Raila, Karua: We will not air our dirty linens in public like UhuRuto

Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition running mate Martha Karua has said they will not air their dirty linen in public in case of any fallout.

The Narc Kenya party leader said should there be any difference with her boss Azimio presidential flag bearer Raila Odinga, they will amicably resolve their differences within confines of the boardroom and not be public about the same.

Speaking during a joint interview with media houses in Karen, Ms Karua said what Raila-Karua government will do differently from UhuRuto regime, should they form the next government, will be to avoid “unscenely” public disagreements that have characterised the current administration since the fallout between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy Dr William Ruto.

Ms Karua promised that their government will conduct itself in a manner befitting the offices they will hold as well as showing respect to the people they lead.

“People may differ on how to go about things. That is supposed to be settled in the boardroom. We will try to conduct ourselves in a way that maintains the respect of the office and demonstrates respect to the people,” said Ms Karua.

For his part, Mr Odinga recalled how they managed to iron out their differences with the late President Mwai Kibaki during the grand coalition government where he was the prime minister.

He explained that when any differences cropped up, they would resolve the same during cabinet meetings or during his briefings with the late president.

“We had differences with Kibaki but we knew how to solve them. We used to work and if there were problems we would discuss them at cabinet meetings or I would also go to the State House to brief him ahead of any cabinet meetings,” said the ODM party leader.

“We worked very well with Kibaki, with a bloated cabinet as it was, and we did a lot of things during the grand coalition government,” he added.

The political relationship between President Kenyatta and his deputy has been strained since the March, 2018 Handshake with Mr Odinga.

This has seen the two friends-turned political foes have since then been spared no chance at going at each other with the differences spilling over to the public towards the end of 2020.

The thawed relationship has seen DP Ruto only taking credit for successes by the UhuRuto government while laying the blame for the failures on the Handshake.

Wading into the controversy, Ms Karua said the UDA party leader must take responsibility for both the failures and successes of the Jubilee government and should stop being dishonest by being selective in his appraisal of the current regime.

“You cannot choose which side of the government to claim credit for and which one to disown. If someone is claiming that I have influenced this in government then they should also take blame for any shortcomings. That is the way it is

You cannot choose which part of the government to claim credit for and which to disown. If somebody is standing at the podium, and telling people that ‘I have influenced this to happen in government’, they must also take the blame for its shortcomings. That is the way it is,” said Ms Karua.