The President, Raila and retired President Mwai Kibaki met in August at a funeral mass for a former Cabinet Minister Dr Njoroge Mungai at Thogoto PCEA church in Kikuyu, Kiambu county.
They not only shook hands but also engaged in a brief banter.
Mugabe in 'one-finger' handshake' with Chinese Premier In August, Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe visited China for official tour.
During a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing China's president, Xi Jinping, hailed Mugabe as a "an old friend of the Chinese people whom we respect very much". On his part, Mugabe said he felt "very much at home." However, the fiery Comrade Bob betrayed his words as he halfheartedly shook the hand of premier LI keqiang. The president also appeared to be in dreamland during the photo op!
Xi, Abe in graceless handshake Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met for the first time on Monday, since the two leaders assumed office. The meeting, which was supposed to be a reconciliation meet,became a hot topic of discussion —on awkward handshakes. On social media forums, people took a dig at the chilly facial expressions of both the leaders.
The world's second and third-largest economies —China and Japan— have been involved in tense rows in the past two years over disputed islands, regional rivalry and the legacy of Japan's wartime occupation of China.
In the video footage, Xi approaches the Japanese PM and then the two leaders proceed to shake hands. All this, without the two uttering a word, or even exchanging a diplomatic smile! '
Raila meets Ruto during Governor Ruto's daughter funeral' Sonko comes face to face with Shebesh at a City meeting' 'Obama shares table with Putin during AISEC Summit' Such are the meetings which 'On The Bench' host Jeff Koinange would term as "What an encounter!"
But while the Shebesh-Sonko one has been overhyped by media, the two others recently came to pass odiously capturing the clumsiness that prevails when arch-rivals, not necessarily in politics meet through fate or even planned encounters. [caption id="attachment_118261" align="alignright" width="300"]
Deputy President William Ruto (right) and Cord leader Raila Odinga at the funeral service of former Knut chairman Joseph Chirchir at Litein High School sports ground, Kericho county. Photo/DPSCU[/caption] And it gets even more complicated as the Facebook generation would put it, if the meet involves political giants because it's often taboo for them to agree on anything even on the simplest of issues such as unanimity on whether a dog was accidentally killed or assassinated! Take the funeral of Wangari Maathai in 2011 which by Kenyan standards, was not bereft of sideshows. The then Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka found himself in embarrassing debacle after he was snubbed by Charity Ngilu. As Kalonzo was moving around shaking hands with other dignitaries, Ngilu looking bemused declined to take Kalonzo's outstretched hand. Malema meets dilemma in ParliamentWhen Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema arrived in Parliament for registration in May, he came face to face with his nemesis, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande! While a number of MPs, including Cabinet ministers, approached Malema and shook hands with him, Nzimande completely snubbed Malema as they came face to face in the corridor outside the Old Assembly chamber. Malema also ignored Nzimande as they passed one another. Malema and Nzimande have been at each other's throats for years, including when Malema was still a member of the ANC, with Nzimande alleging that Malema's EFF a party full of "corrupt tenderpreneurs". "Some people wear expensive watches and clothes, but have never worked a day in their lives," he snarled. Obama's eyeball game with Putin
A fleeting exchange between Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin at a Beijing Convention centre on Monday offered a peek into the awkwardness that can prevail when world leaders are gathered in one place. Following Chinese leader Xi Jinping into an ornate room, Putin turned his head in the direction of his US counterpart and remarked, in English; "It's beautiful, isn't it?"Obama coolly agreed without looking at Putin, ignoring a slap on the back from the Russian leader as the pair prepared to take their seats on either side of their Chinese host. Obama finally presses the flesh with Raul Castro Nelson Mandela's memorial service last year was rich in memorable diplomatic moments between world leaders. Obama also used the occasion to shake hands with the Cuban leader, Raúl Castro. The US broke off diplomatic ties with Cuba in 1961 when Raúl's brother, Fidel, aligned with the Soviet Union in the cold war, and the frosty relations have continued to date. The handshake was the first between leaders of Cuba and the US for more than a decade.
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