The ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has issued a scathing attack on retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, after he said he still believes the late Prime Minister Raila Odinga won the 2022 presidential election.
(Watch video of what Mr Kenyatta said below)
In a statement issued on Tuesday, just hours after Mr Kenyatta made the remarks while handing over the Jubilee Party mantle to Fred Matiang’i, UDA Secretary-General Hassan Omar accused the former president of living “in a fool’s paradise,” saying his remarks reflected an unwillingness to accept President William Ruto’s victory.
“His comments today — that he ‘still believes’ that the late Prime Minister Raila Odinga won the 2022 election and ‘we all know what happened’ — is the perpetual realisation that he totally lost power and is going to lose it in 2027,” Mr Hassan hit back.
Earlier, Mr Kenyatta said he was certain that Mr Odinga won the 2022 General Election. He then alluded to a scheme that ensured President Ruto’s win.
However, in its response, UDA countered the claim by accusing Mr Kenyatta of deploying State machinery in an unsuccessful effort to influence the outcome of that election.
Mr Hassan goes further, alleging that Mr Kenyatta had engaged in “unconstitutional shenanigans to subvert the will of Kenyans before, during and after” the 2022 election. Among the claims made by UDA is threats against then-IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati, though the statement did not provide further detail or evidence to support these allegations.
The statement also referenced an unspecified “final act at Bomas of Kenya on August 15, 2022, which collapsed,” without elaborating what this was.
“In 2027, His Excellency William Ruto will win resoundingly and once again put Uhuru in the dustbin of political paralysis,” he said. “Let him prepare for more humiliation come 2027.”
Mr Kenyatta has not yet publicly responded to UDA’s statement.
Deepening rift between Uhuru and Ruto
Mr Kenyatta’s remarks and the UDA response reflect the deepening rift between President Ruto and his former, who have traded increasingly pointed accusations since Mr Kenyatta’s public fallout with his former deputy following the 2022 election.
Last week, while touring Nyanza region, President Ruto accused his predecessor of sabotaging his administration.
He accused him of betraying a political pact they allegedly made when they were allies and of now sponsoring opposition politics against his administration.
According to Dr Ruto, he and Mr Kenyatta had agreed that the latter would serve as President for 10 years before handing over to him for another decade.
But he alleged that Mr Kenyatta abandoned the arrangement when it was his turn to seek the presidency, instead supporting former Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga in the 2022 election.
“You never showed up. Instead, you worked against me,” the President said.
He then said Mr Kenyatta had “lowered the dignity of the office of the former president”.
Additional report by Domnic Ombok and George Odiwuor
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