NAIROBI — Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has endorsed his former rival, Raila Odinga, as presidential candidate in this year's elections.

The incumbent, who cannot run again as he has already served two terms, told a crowd of thousands in the capital, Nairobi, that he had no doubt that Odinga was team captain.

“We have chosen Raila Odinga without any opposition to be the fifth president of Kenya,” Kenyatta told a cheering crowd numbering thousands in the capital Nairobi.

The announcement brings together two of Kenya’s top political dynasties, who have a long history of opposing each other at the ballot box.

Last month the governing Jubilee party joined a coalition headed by Odinga.

In 2018 Kenyatta and Odinga declared a truce following deadly post-election violence. The two families have been arch-political rivals for decades. — BBC