Mudavadi accuses Uhuru of failing to campaign for Raila in Mt Kenya
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has accused retired President Uhuru Kenyatta of failing to deliver on his promise to campaign for Raila Odinga in Mt Kenya during the 2022 presidential elections.
Mudavadi made the accusation while speaking at the thanksgiving celebrations for Uriri MP Mark Nyamita in Migori County.
“That man (Uhuru), I sat with him in meetings and he promised everyone and then said, Leave it to me. The man never mobilized anything for Raila in Mt Kenya. He did all his mobilization at State House in Nairobi,” said Mudavadi.
Mudavadi, who is the leader of the Amani National Congress (ANC) party, also revealed why he and his party ditched the Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya Coalition for the Kenya Kwanza party.
“You cannot reverse anything now. No matter how many times you go to the streets, you cannot reverse the fact that Kenyans voted in August 2022. You should prepare yourselves for 2027. That is the logical thing to do,” added Mudavadi.
The accusation comes after Raila Odinga, the leader of the Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya Coalition, denied that Uhuru’s backing of his presidential bid could have cost him the presidency, in December 2022.
“President Uhuru Kenyatta was not supposed to be campaigning for me. I am capable of campaigning and winning elections. Uhuru said he’ll support me because of my track record,” said Raila.
Raila also stated that Uhuru did not use his position as the incumbent president to sway the results in his favour, and that the election environment was free and fair.
However, many pundits have attributed Raila’s loss to his failure to garner enough votes in Mt Kenya and President William Ruto’s inroads in Western.
In the 10 Mt Kenya counties, Railaa garnered 848,205 votes, which was below Azimio’s target of 30 percent.
Despite the disappointment, it was still a major improvement from the 2017 presidential election when Odinga received only 6.9 percent of the votes in the region.