As the dust settles after the August 9, 2022, General Election, and the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition, his allies engage in a blame game over who cost Raila Odinga his presidency.
The feuding among Mr. Odinga’s men has threatened to turn the grand Azimio alliance, which Mr. Odinga used to run for president, into a sand castle.
Mr. Saitabao Ole Kanchory, a city lawyer who served as Mr. Odinga’s top agent in the August presidential election, told his employer that he lost the election because of Suna East MP Junet Mohamed, former ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru, and Prof Makau Mutua.
“We could not have lost the presidential election were it not for the three. I will tell you how they contributed to the defeat because they are the people I worked with and I respect them, but they take the highest responsibility for the loss,” said Mr. Kanchory.
Mr. Odinga’s point men in his presidential bids were these three persons. Mr. Mohamed was Mr. Odinga’s right-hand man, while Prof Mutua was the presidential campaign secretariat’s spokesperson.
Former Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni blamed the Independent Election and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for Mr. Odinga’s defeat.
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino backed Mr. Mohamed, claiming Mr. Odinga’s loss was caused by persons in Azimio.
During the campaign, Mr. Mucheru was accused of multiple occasions by the Kenya Kwanza team, led by Dr. Ruto, of using his position to assist Mr. Odinga’s efforts unjustly, an accusation the then-CS disputed.
Kanchory said Junet wanted a say in every step of Raila’s journey, and that Raila indeed trusted him more.
“He ensured that he kept everyone who could have helped Baba (Mr. Odinga) at arm’s length because he wanted to be the alpha and omega of the campaigns and the agents’ management system.”
Babu Owino however, disagreed with Kanchory.
“People are fighting Junet for no reason. I can tell you the truth of this matter. Do you think Junet would just let this go and forgo his dream in Baba’s government? Junet would have made more money in Baba’s government but there is always someone who has to carry the cross and that is why the cross was put on Junet’s back,” he explained.
Kanchory trailed his guns on Mucheru, accusing him of frustrating the campaign.
“He ensured everyone who had a role, including the people who printed basic stuff that I signed, were his people. The people who were typing the names were his people and were under instructions not to deliver.”
However, Mucheru refuted this claim.
“It is on record that 99.96 percent of polling stations transmitted their election results, it is also on record there was full uninterrupted media coverage of the elections and the Supreme Court proceedings,” said Mr. Mucheru.
