Social-political activist Boniface Mwangi has said Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition’s election loss was largely owing to a disorganized team, with the bulk of them unskilled in critical roles.
Mwangi, who was part of the team volunteering in the campaign secretariat for the Raila-Martha ticket, said he supported them because their principles aligned with what he stood for.
In a 2,180 word piece shared on his Facebook page, Mwangi slammed the coalition’s structure, claiming that allegations were thrown and blame was apportioned inside the Azimio fraternity.
“I would like to go on record stating that Azimio’s overconfidence and grossly underestimating our opponent cost us the presidential election,” Mwangi said.
Mwangi stated that the coalition put a lot of faith in Uhuru Kenyatta’s backing and was more confident about emerging victorious rather than focusing on plans to help them in the August 9 election.
“We failed to do the hard work of strategizing, organizing, and mobilizing our base to come out and vote, especially in our strongholds. We failed to protect our agents from the temptation of easy bribes from our opponents. We allowed them to be compromised at the polling stations. We also failed to protect our votes because we had too much faith that the IEBC would conduct a credible, free and fair election,” Mwangi wrote.
Mwangi indicated that the Azimio secretariat considered Uhuru as an asset, but he believed that if Uhuru could betray Ruto, he could also abandon their choice, Raila Odinga.
According to Mwangi, Uhuru’s remarks affected the coalition more than they benefited it, to the point where Raila and Karua were viewed as projects, a perception they couldn’t shake by the time elections were held.
Mwangi further argues that the Azimio secretariat failed to adequately publicize the coalition’s manifesto and did not engage in local politics to ascertain the true sentiment on the ground.
“The secretariat ignored feedback on how to make the campaign resonate with Kenyans including: withdrawing old men, and people facing criminal charges from our rallies and getting more youthful voices on the campaign stage, and having local leadership at the center stage instead of having one man run the show at all rallies,” Mwangi said.
Mwangi claims that the coalition failed to recruit enough agents to oversee the tallying process at Bomas of Kenya and instead dispatched politicians who had nothing to show for it at the end of the day.
“We gave Bomas access badges to incompetent sycophants, politicians, and cronies who were there not to guard the vote but to heckle, disrupt, and take selfies to show that they were at the tallying centre,” Mwangi said.
According to the activist, the majority of those hired for the coalition’s secretariat frequently provided inaccurate and misleading information. Mwangi claims they were misled into believing the figures were in their favor, and the evidence provided to the Supreme Court was likewise deceptive.
“When Martha went to KICC to meet Azimio leaders and said we had won, she was basing her statement on the figures and numbers she was given by the Azimio secretariat. After the Bomas fiasco, came the court case. We were presented with evidence by the same respected Kenyans in our team– evidence of how we had won. Looking back, it is now obvious that we were fed with misleading information, up until the very last minute. The question arises: was this a long con?” Mwangi posed.
Mwangi felt that Raila Odinga had been misled, but that there was still hope because Azimio had a majority in parliament. With the defections, however, it would be impossible to hold President William Ruto’s administration accountable.
Mwangi described Raila as an inspiration and suggested that he establish a leadership center to train and prepare Kenya’s next generation of leaders.
Join our community and solve the Puzzling fun with our range of crosswords
We are building some fun puzzles to put your problem-solving skills to the test and we want you to have a blast while you're at it!
Share your email and we’ll serve up new puzzles with your morning coffee.
Do you want to help shape the features we prioritize? Take a Survey to help us understand what matters to you most
Begin SurveyAM Live is NTV's morning current affairs show that sets the agenda for the day with insightful panels every weekday.
Business Redefined is Kenya’s premier thought leadership platform for unpacking matters regarding economic and finance policy as well demystifying complex developments in the region’s capital markets.
This is Daily Politics. Here we look into the ins and outs of everything Kenyan politics. We pull no punches and have no reason to sugarcoat anything that matters to Kenyans.
A collection of our premium content. Diam curabitur vehicula A collection of our premium content. Diam curabitur vehicula
A collection of our premium content. Diam curabitur vehicula A collection of our premium content. Diam curabitur vehicula
Gumzo La Sato is a live social issues show that aims to create awareness about issues affecting the larger society. The discussions range from Parenting, Marital bliss and struggles, Oppression, violence, and all matters of the Heart.
Health Diary is a weekly show that highlights different types of diseases/conditions and seeks ways to prevent, treat/manage them. The show debunks this through real life stories and also feature specialists in different fields, to offer medical advice on the same.
Letter To My Younger Self is a podcast where guests get to write a letter to their younger self, from which Maxine formulates questions to ask them during the hour-long show.
Nation Reports is a weekly podcast offers an opportunity for listeners to interact with various reporters and journey with them as they unravel the biggest most emotive stories.
Paradise Lost peeks through the story of Louis Otieno, the times, and everything in between.
Speaking of Gen Z brings you entertaining but meaningful conversations about a generation that is trying to navigate through adulthood. Join hosts Michelle, Jackie and Esther as they unravel all things Gen Z.
Sport-On is a 30-minute sports magazine show on NTV and 3 hours on NATION FM. The show seeks to give the sports “fanatics” and “funatics” comprehensive and in-depth coverage of sports both locally and internationally.
Thamani is a business show which is dedicated to emerging issues regarding micro, small and medium size businesses.
A two-hour-long live show that airs on Fridays. The show focuses on what is current in the entertainment industry, controversial and popular across all media platforms targeting those aged between 25 and 35 years.
The trend podcast highlights and captures the best of banter from #TTTT segment that airs every Friday on NTV. It's the TTTT EXTRA
The Wicked Edition with Dr. King’ori seeks to address serious issues through humour and relatable wit. It is a two-part half hour show filmed in front of a live audience
A collection of our premium content. Diam curabitur vehicula A collection of our premium content. Diam curabitur vehicula
Twende is a travel show that highlights beautiful, unique, diverse locations, people, and cultures. The show offers fresh perspectives on familiar locations and memorable experiences in new ones.
This Saturday evening lifestyle show lets viewers share their stories and life experiences as openly & honestly for the purpose of shifting the culture of silence.
VIP ACCESS is Anyiko Owoko’s YouTube and podcast show on Music and Culture dedicated to promoting Africa’s most promising talent and creatives. This podcast grants you VIP access into timeless interviews while providing a platform for rising as well as established artists across the continent. Since launching in 2018, Anyiko has interviewed over 70 African music stars.
This weekly news show aims to have all sides of debate but not be constrained by it, listen to main voices in the contest but not allow them to hold the viewers hostage, entertain debate but allow push back with all due respect.
In this podcast, three widowers openly speak about the process of grief, how they found themselves exposed to the emotional turmoil of losing their wives, and how society still does not know how to deal with them.
Your World is a health, wellness and variety show. It provides a platform for audiences and experts to share their experiences on how to improve or manage health issues, across Kenya and the Africa region.
