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2022 Presidential race

Flamboyant lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi has taken on President Uhuru Kenyatta just days after he addressed the Sagana 3 meeting.

During the Sagana meeting, the head of state publicly endorsed ODM leader Raila Odinga to succeed him, sparking a public debate.

Uhuru, Raila urge Senate to fast-track Azimio Bill and stop demonizing it »  Capital News
From Left: President Uhuru Kenyatta, Jubilee party Secretary General Raphael Tuju and ODM leader Raila Odinga during a past event. Photo/Courtesy

Taking to his official Twitter account on Friday, February 25, 2022, lawyer Ahmednasir who has been supporting Deputy President William Ruto’s hustler narrative said that for President Kenyatta to make any sense to Mt Kenya people and other Kenyans at large, he must come out and explain the purposes of his post-retirement politics.

Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi's estimated wealth and how he made it
Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi. PHOTO/COURTESY

According to the senior counsel, President Kenyatta must clarify whether his interest in the succession politics is personal, family or national.

The lawyer who represented President Kenyatta during the 2017 presidential election petition went ahead to claim that the first in command must be ignored by Kenyans if his interest in the current politics is personal or family based.

Further, the lawyer argues that President Kenyatta had been given 10 years by Kenyans to deal with national issues.

“For H.E UHURU to MAKE SENSE to Mt Kenya & other Kenyans he must explain:”THE PURPOSES OF HIS POST RETIREMENT POLITICS”. Is his “POST RETIREMENT POLITICS” personal,family or national? If its personal/family he MUST BE IGNORED! If it is national, DIDN’T WE GIVE HIM 10 YRS TO DO IT?” tweeted the lawyer.

President Kenyatta while endorsing the former prime minister argued that his deputy William Ruto has not reformed and that he can only be considered if he tores the line in future.

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As the countdown to 2022 general elections continues, there are 15 vote-rich counties that are possibly the determinants of the winner in the presidential contest between Deputy President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga.

In an analysis done by Nation.Africa, the two most recent presidential elections shows the 15 counties made all the difference between Jubilee Party’s double wins and the opposition’s losses.

It indicates their huge bearing on the August polls if past voting patterns are repeated.

In 2013, Uhuru Kenyatta beat his opponent Mr. Odinga by a thin margin of 800,000 votes, and only 8000 ballots separated them from going into a run-off based on the electoral rules that require a winning presidential candidate to secure above 50 percent of total votes cast.

While in 2017, President Kenyatta garnered more votes and the margin between him and Raila Odinga widened by 1.5 million votes. This change was immensely contributed by the 15 counties which all gave Jubilee Party 1.1 million votes.

In seven of these counties; Murang’a, Nyandarua, Marsabit, Kisii, Nyeri, Kirinyaga and Nyamira- Raila’s votes reduced by over 80,000 in 2017 compared to 2013. While Mr. Kenyatta’s votes gained almost 500,000 extra votes in the seven counties in 2017.

This has made Mr. Odinga to work hard in campaigning in these counties to woo Jubilee voters.

The other counties that assisted Uhuru Kenyatta to lead were Kiambu, Nakuru, Tharaka Nithi, Meru, Embu Turkana, Uasin Gishu and Laikipia.

The current political rivals, Raila Odinga and DP Ruto have camped in these counties lately as campaigns gather momentum, showing an analytical approach to the rivals’ vote-hunting strategies.

Although the Supreme Court nullified 2017 results, the figures are the only reliable numbers to compare voting patterns with 2013.

Importantly, these 15 counties account for a third of the recently projected new voters that IEBC targets to register by next year’s General Election.

The counties are home to approximately 2.8 million of the potential 9.2 million new voters that the electoral body aims to register.

What this means is that the presidential aspirants must work hard to get the high voter turn out in these regions.

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ODM leader Raila Odinga on Friday October 15, 2021 brought Eldoret town to a standstill as a mammoth crowd came to welcome him.

The former premier is currently on a tour of the Rift Valley region that has been perceived to be Deputy President William Ruto’s backyard.

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Raila started his tour with an engagement with leaders drawn from counties of the North and South Rift.

Hosted by Elgeyo Marakwet Alex Tolgos and other notable leaders, the 2022 presidential candidate sought to woo residents and leaders of the region that massively voted for him in 2007.

Raila sought to distance himself from the accusations that he abandoned the region after he entered the grand coalition government with the retired president Mwai Kibaki.

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In his 2022 promises to the region, the ODM leader promised to revive defunct industries and factories that used the economy of the greater Rift Valley region.

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Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua has torn into Mt. Kenya tycoons days after ODM leader Raila Odinga met them in a bid to seek support in the region.

According to Gachagua, the tycoons who met and endorsed Raila for the presidency are only interested in securing their wealth and creating more in future.

The Deputy President William Ruto ally sought to disapprove the claims by the billionaires that they are out to fight for the interests of Mt. Kenya residents.

” Those rich men do not care about the issues affecting Mt. Kenya residents, they are only interested with protecting their wealth and making more in the next government,” said Gachagua.

The politician while speaking at an event held at DP Ruto’s residence in Karen recalled various instances where the tycoons kept mum as the government suppressed Mt. Kenya locals.

“When our people were evicted from Nyamakima, they dd not meet to address the issue. They also failed to make donations to the displaced persons in Laikipia when the skirmishes broke out. They didn’t even help our people with PEPs during the COVID-19 period, yet they have the wherewithal to purchase face marks for everyone in the region,” he added.

The legislator further added that the Mt. Kenya Foundation have for a long time spread their risks and are not trusting. He said that the foundation financed both former President Mwai Kibaki and his opponent President Uhuru Kenyatta’s campaigns in 2002.

According to Gachagua, financing rivals by the foundation showed that they have no stand and are only interested in securing their wealth and investment opportunities.

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ODM leader Raila Odinga for the Central people has been for a long time portrayed as an ‘enemy’ especially in the 2007, 2013 and 2017 general elections. This was a tactic employed by his opponents to deny him support in the vote-rich region. However, this time as 2022 general elections nears, he has a chance to eke it out with his opponents for support.

Over the weekend, he made eight stopovers between Nanyuki and Nairobi, including Karatina, where he addressed an excited crowd chanting his name and displaying oranges, ODM’s symbol, which is a situation distinct from 2007 when he was jeered in some instances and chased out of a local hotel. After the Laikipia and Nairobi campaigns, he attended another important meeting with leaders and tycoons from Mt. Kenya, who embraced him and dubbed the forum, “the beginning of the search for President Kenyatta’s successor.”

He was hosted by the Mt. kenya Foundation, whose chairman is Mr. Peter Munga. They said that they were impressed with Mr. Odinga’s forays into Mt. Kenya on Monday. The meeting was vital because it composed of the wealthy supporters of Uhuru Kenyatta and his predecessor Mwai Kibaki’s campaigns. This meeting is a clear indication that Raila’s fortunes have changed.

Mr. Munga likened Raila’as entry into Mt. Kenya to Jesus’ triumphant entry to Jerusalem. He told Raila not to worry about getting mass support in Mt. Kenya but he should support the gradual positive changes. The foundation’s vice chairman Mr. Titus Ibui said the group is looking for President Kenyatta’s successor who will stick to the Constitution and offer them a conducive environment to run their businesses.

During his meeting with the Mt. Kenya leaders, Raila acknowledged the problems faced by boda boda operators and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). He said he had forwarded their issues to President Kenyatta. Raila said to improve the economy, the youths should be empowered.

Igembe North MP Maoka Maore said that he heard Uhuru Kenyatta complaining that the person who ought to have taken the button from him ran in the opposite direction. He said it is now the time for Raila to be handed over the button. The Mt. Kenya Foundation leaders said they would meet OKA leaders to learn their plans for the region.

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Deputy President William Ruto and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga will jail each other after the 2022 electioneering period, Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala has claimed.

Malala who was speaking on Wednesday September 15, 2021 during an interview on a local radio station stated that whoever will become the fifth president between Raila and DP Ruto, will jail the other.

He argues that Raila will send Ruto to prison immediately after clinching power, and Ruto will do the same to Raila should he also succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.

This, according to Malala, is because the two leaders have deep-rooted enmity and bitterness that if either of them gets the top seat, they will seek to punish the other.

Malala who is rooting for a Musalia Mudavadi presidency argues that should Raila win the 2022 general election, half of the country will gladly welcome that win while the other half will frown over it.

As a result, he argued, the country will remain divided. The same outcome would be expected if Ruto becomes the next president.

The ANC lawmaker argues that for the country to avoid the looming division that will be brought about by Raila and Ruto, a neutral leader must be given a chance.

In his appeal to ODM leader and Ruto, he urged them to compromise their candidacy for the sake of the country, arguing that the nation needs healing from all manners of political intolerance.

He says that Kenyans should elect a leader who will not hold any grudge against another leader.

Malala insisted that the anger and bitterness that exists between DP Ruto and the former Prime Minister is beyond just politics, therefore, risks hurting the entire nation.

Raila who has not yet declared his 2022 presidential candidature is on the record saying that he will send all the thieves to prison should he become the next president.

Ruto on the other hand has been accusing Raila of causing Jubilee government’s failure to deliver on its promises to Kenyans.

The second in command has been accusing Raila of killing Jubilee party through his handshake with President Kenyatta.

Ruto has hence abandoned Jubilee and is now focusing on popularizing United Democratic Alliance (UDA) which he will use as his vehicle to presidency in 2022.

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Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen has alleged that one of Deputy President William Ruto’s mandate will be restoring dignity in his current office once he becomes the president.

Taking to his social media accounts on Friday August 27, 2021, the former senate majority leader weighed into the mistreatment DP Ruto is currently facing.

DP Ruto who has hence fallen out with President Kenyatta has been neglected in government, with the head of state recently daring him to resign over his continued criticism of the government.

President Kenyatta during an interview with media editors early this week told DP Ruto to consider quitting if he was unhappy with the government he is serving.

However, Murkomen argued that the second in command has just a number of days left before he finishes his term as Deputy President of the republic of Kenya.

Murkomen now claims that even as the government operatives continue undermining the DP’s office, Ruto will restore the dignity of the office once elected Kenya’s 5th President in 2022.

The vocal lawmaker claims that God is preparing DP Ruto to treat his deputy better and with dignity.

“HE William Ruto has only 346 days 17 hours &35 minutes in the office of the Deputy President.Even if you undermine the office&the institution,HE Ruto will restore the dignity of that office when his Deputy will be IN.God is preparing him to treat his Deputy better&with dignity,” tweeted Murkomen.

Murkomen’s remarks come just a day after government withdrew GSU officers manning DP Ruto’s Karen residence and replaced them with AP police officers.

The motive of the change of DP Ruto’s security detail is not however, clear even as Kenyans continue linking the move to 2022 succession politics.

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Wiper Democratic Movement deputy party leader Farah Maalim has claimed that Deputy President William Ruto will clinch the 2022 presidential polls.

Speaking on Monday July 26, 2021 during a morning talk show on TV 47, the former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly expressed his dislike against DP Ruto, but maintained that he will win the race should he run against ODM leader Raila Odinga.

According to Farah Maalim, an exposition that has supposedly been the saving grace for former Prime Minister would not be at play in the 2022 General Election.

“If it’s going to be a race between Ruto and Raila, I don’t like Ruto and I will never vote for him but he will win at 10am in the morning,” he said.

He further argued that the support currently enjoyed by Raila stemmed from the disillusionment of other tribes that have had to endure a seemingly unending leadership by pundits from Central Kenya.

He justified this claim by adding that in the event that Raila faced a presidential candidate from a region besides Mt. Kenya, his messianic aura would deplete in a flash.

Maalim also emphasized that Ruto ignited a class war, banking on support by impoverished and disenfranchised groups in his tours across Central Kenya.

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National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has been handed a major boost in his bid to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2022.

This is after a section of the Maa community political leaders endorsed his 2022 presidential bid.

The leaders said Mt Kenya elders who crowned the speaker as the region’s spokesman did not do so in vain and may have been guided by the heavens.

They are MPs Kanchori Memusi (Kajiado Central), David Sankok (Nominated), Peris Tobiko (Kajiado East), and former Senator Peter Mositet.

They insisted that the country would be in safe hands under Muturi. Deputy President William Ruto, Amani National Congress (ANC) leadr Musalia Mudavadi and ODM leader Raila Odinga are some of the leaders seeking to succeed President Kenyatta in the next year’s general election.

However, the team which hosted Speaker Muturi for the official launch of Ildamat Boys’ High School in Kajiado Central built by the area NG-CDF committee under the patronage of Memusi maintained that the speaker was best placed to advance the agenda of the pastoralists since he stems from a minority community – the Mbeere.

According to Sankok, Muturi’s candidacy would help propel marginalized communities that have not seen the presidency.

For his part, Mositet asked Kenyans not to look at Muturi as a Kikuyu but a Mbeere “which is a minority community like Maasais, Elmolos, and those straddling the Coast.”

He said it was time Kenyans elected a president from among the minorities adding that the country’s problems arise from being led by big communities.

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Uhuru, Raila, Ruto

Will the working relationship between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga last until 2022?

Well, from the look of things, the handshake partners may be divided by the time Kenyans head to the ballot for the next general elections.

DP Ruto seems to be changing his strategy to drive a wedge between Uhuru and his handshake partner.

In an apparent effort to set the two handshake partners on a warpath, the DP appears to have devised a new plan to gain favour with the President and portray Raila as the enemy within.

Ruto, who has set his eyes on succeeding President Uhuru, has not been at ease since the two erstwhile political rivals closed ranks and shook hands on March 9, 2018. Ruto and the Nasa trio were excluded.

The DP and his troops have perceived the handshake as a political arrangement aimed at stifling his ambitions of becoming the country’s fifth President in favour of Raila.

Ruto has suddenly made an about-turn in his criticism of the Jubilee administration’s performance as his ally- former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko make sensational allegations on the government on the 2017 election chaos that have the potential of dividing the ‘two brothers’.

At a church service in Dagoretti South last Sunday, Ruto strongly supported the President and his administration’s development record and went ahead to list projects he and the President have completed since 2013.

The apparent change of heart – or strategy – came a day after he admitted Jubilee administration’s failure to realise its development agenda but blamed it on Raila for “infiltrating and diverting” the government priorities.

Ruto scathingly attacked the former Prime Minister, accusing him of despising, humiliating and embarrassing the head of state with his constant attacks attack on Jubilee’s output.

Raila and his allies have lately criticised the government’s development record in their BBI and 2022 election campaigns.

The ODM brigade has painted Ruto as the face of Jubilee’s failures and accused him of trying to run away from his own government’s failures.

They cited the laptop project, stadiums and creation of at least one million jobs for the youth every year as among the pledges Jubilee has failed to deliver.

Political analysts Elias Mutuma and Mark Bichachi observe Ruto as a man out to exploit every opportunity that may create a rift between Uhuru and Raila.

“The friendship between Uhuru and Raila is costing the DP…so he would ensure that the two go their separate ways so that he can have a better chance of succeeding his boss,” Mutuma said in an interview with a local daily.

He added that Ruto is wounded and feels his space was taken over by Raila and thus will be keen to take advantage of any scenario that would see them apart.

“If he gets an opportunity to edge Raila out, he would not hesitate. He is taking advantage of the fact that there has been a bit of some discomfort within ODM circles [over the handshake],” he said.

“Ruto understands everyone loves anyone who opposes the sitting government. That is why is roping in Raila so that he can increase his chances,” Bichachi said.

And in what appears part of the wider plan to split Uhuru and Raila, former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, a close ally of the DP, sensationally claimed  Interior CS Karanja Kibicho and other influential people in the Jubilee administration planned the 2017 election chaos, which was then blamed on ODM.

Making the claims in the presence of the DP, Sonko alleged that he and influential people in the Jubilee administration, otherwise known as ‘the deep state’, printed ODM branded T-shirts.

Kibicho has denied Sonko’s claims and has already recorded a statement with the DCI. He has threatened to sue the ex-city county chief.

Sonko’s assertions, however, triggered anger in Raila’s ODM and threatened to sever the cordial relationship the outfit and the President’s Jubilee Party enjoy.

“ODM demands a full inquiry into the matter to establish the motives and extent of these mafia-like covert criminal acts as well as all persons and institutions involved,” secretary general Edwin Sifuna demanded.

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Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga will on Thursday unveil the party’s strategy ahead of 2022 politicking period.

The event which was to be held tomorrow (Tuesday) was postponed due to Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report which is set to be handed to President Uhuru Kenyatta on the same day.

Raila will also officially open ODM’s new offices in Lavington and launch a digital membership registration platform.

Details of the party’s elections set for next year will also be given.

Changes in the party’s leadership are also expected, with some top directors set to be shown the door as the party prepares for a revamp ahead of 2022.

Bangled party primaries witnessed in the past are some of the reasons behind the revamp with reports indicating that the party is planning to have a new team of professionals at the new Lavington headquarters.

Do you think Raila is planning to be in the 2022 Presidential race?

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ODM party leader Raila Odinga has dismissed reports indicating that he will run for presidency in the 2022 General Election.

His remarks come after, the Sunday nation reported that he would contest for the presidential race in the 2022 election, citing that it was the reason he resolved to work with President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Raila, however, in a statement on Sunday expressed his disappointment in the report terming it ‘reckless and irresponsible’.

He said the local daily twisted his calls for grassroots elections in the Orange party to link him to the 2022 presidential race.

“Odinga does not believe that three years into an election expected in 2022, the media should prioritize who is running, who is ahead, who is behind, who is going to win, what are the odds and who will lose,” read the statement.

Odinga said the media should no force candidates into the race rather they should focus on reporting on real and urgent economic, political and social issues.  

“Odinga believes that three years of dissecting poll numbers and forcing candidates into the race rather than focusing on real and urgent economic, political and social issues that the nation needs to deal with ahead of 2022 is reckless, irresponsible and cheap journalism.”

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