Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga pledged on Friday to unite the country after elections last year in which around 100 people were killed mainly in clashes between security forces and opposition supporters.
The surprise announcement could lower political tension in a country that is East Africa’s richest economy and a key regional hub for security, diplomacy, and commerce.
In a live television address with Kenyatta on the steps of the president’s office, Odinga said the time had come to resolve their differences. The first joint public appearance of its kind by the two politicians since 2013.
President Kenyatta said: “We have a responsibility as leaders to find solutions. Elections come and go but Kenya remains.”
They said in a statement they have agreed to establish a new office staffed by advisers to tackle the divisions ranging from opposition complaints about the elections to tensions between ethnic groups and corruption.
Kenyatta was sworn in last November for a second term after winning a repeat presidential election last Oct. 26 that Odinga boycotted. The Supreme Court earlier nullified an August presidential poll and order the October re-run.
The election season had blunt growth in Kenya, East Africa’s richest economy and a key Western-ally in a volatile region.
In January, Odinga took a symbolic presidential oath in a Nairobi park in what was seen as a direct rebuke to Kenyatta.
Before the Friday meeting, the two men had defied calls from Kenyan civil society, religious leaders, and Western diplomats to hold talks to overcome deep divisions opened up by the disputed elections.
Odinga said the opposition had decided to change tactics for the sake of the country’s unity. “We refuse to allow our diversity to kill our nation,” he said.
Allies in Odinga’s NASA coalition, including his running mate in last year’s poll, Kalonzo Musyoka, said they were not aware of the meeting and promised to give a detailed statement later.
Tillerson arrives in the Kenyan capital on Friday afternoon, part of his seven-day visit to Africa. One analyst said his arrival could be linked to the rapprochement between Kenyatta and Odinga.
