President William Ruto confirms that he is open to a dialogue with the Opposition provided the talks do not involve a power-sharing agreement.

While in Kericho County on Wednesday, the president reaffirmed his earlier stance that there could only be effective talks on how to help the country move forward and no room for the infamous ‘Handshake’ with the Opposition.

“We don’t have a problem with speaking with anyone so long as tunaongea mambo ya wananchi. Mambo ya kugawanya mamlaka wananchi wanaongea siku ya kura. Now, we are planning how to create jobs for the youth and how the country will go forward,” he said.

According to President Ruto, the government has been willing to have an audience with the Azimio party but the latter violated the bipartisan talks by walking away.

“We want to be a nation that respects democracy…Democracy is decided by votes si kwa fujo au kwa vita…inaamuliwa kwa kura,” he said.

He, therefore, maintained that his administration would not condone any incidents of violence and would firmly deal with anyone who threatens peace and causes mayhem in the country.

The president consequently told off the Opposition over the planned series of demos saying he would not be cowed but would use government mechanisms to deal with lawbreakers.

“We must protect our country and our democracy by making sure that our politics is not devoid of violence, chaos or destruction of private businesses or public property. We must protect this country and the police must be firm on hooligans, criminals, people who want to destroy other people’s properties and life…”

He hence urges the Odinga-led faction to find amicable ways to address their concerns.

By Pacifica Mochama.