It has now emerged that Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s intervention facilitated President William Ruto’s recent trip to Uganda to mend fences with President Yoweri Museveni amid a tense relationship stemming from an oil trade dispute between Kenya and Uganda.
Photographs capturing Ruto, Museveni, and Odinga meeting at Museveni’s Kisozi Farm country home sparked public discussion in Kenya. Odinga, who was attending the funeral of former Namibian president Hage Geingob, reportedly flew directly to Uganda, while President Ruto traveled from Nairobi.
Museveni had extended an invitation to Odinga to discuss matters concerning regional integration within the East African Community (EAC). Ruto is said to have reached out to Odinga to facilitate dialogue and resolve the ongoing diplomatic tension over the government-to-government oil deal.
The primary focus of the meeting was the decision to deny Uganda’s national oil company access to Kenya’s oil pipeline.
Behind-the-scenes efforts to broker a truce with Museveni have been ongoing, given his pivotal support for Odinga’s bid for the chairmanship of the African Union Commission. President Ruto hinted at this during a public address in Homa Bay on Tuesday.
Last year, Uganda’s decision to exclude Kenya from its new oil import deal signaled escalating hostility between Ruto and Museveni. This move was anticipated to result in Kenya losing approximately Sh14 billion annually earned from handling Uganda’s petroleum and related products.
