NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 25 – Azimio Leader Raila Odinga’s August 9, 2022 loss to President William Ruto evidently shocked many notably diehard Azimio leaders who have since vanished from the public eye.
Raila’s loss in the polls dealt a significant blow to some of his allies who in fact were bullish and confident of securing the Presidency.
The leaders are yet to make a public appearance about a month into President Ruto’s tenure in office despite being conspicuous during the campaigns.
Whereas Raila took the bitter pill and half-heartedly accepted Ruto’s win, he has slowly returned to the all too familiar territory of being in the Opposition.
Raila – the Kenyan veteran Opposition Leader – had challenged Ruto’s win in court albeit unsuccessfully. It was his fifth loss to clinch the elusive presidency.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta had endorsed Raila as his preferred successor and sidelined his deputy for ten years and now President in what emboldened Odinga’s allies that victory would be his.
-David Murathe-
Considered a close ally to former President Kenyatta, Murathe was truly confident that Odinga would become Kenya’s fifth President.
Following Odinga’s loss, Murathe who was once a darling of the media as he rallied Kenyans to support Odinga went underground.
The former Vice Chairperson of the now diminished Jubilee Party had rallied Kenyans to “prepare for a Mandela moment”.
“It’s time Kenyans rewarded the years of struggle of Raila Amollo Odinga. They owe it to him. It’s like Mandela, and 2022 will be a Mandela Moment,” he once said.
The former Gatanga lawmaker had in 2020 declared that Ruto will never be President describing him as “unsuitable”.
“Ruto’s presidency will be terrible for this country,” he once said.
He faulted President Ruto who was then Deputy President for embarking on early 2022 campaigns instead of helping his former boss to deliver on the Jubilee manifesto.
He disclosed this at the height of the fallout between President Ruto and his predecessor Kenyatta.
Murathe’s last public appearance is traced back to August 14, 2022, at the Bomas of Kenya – the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) main tallying center, a day before President Ruto was declared the winner.
In the lead-up to the declaration of the results, Murathe appeared to be in disbelief that the presidency was not to be theirs after all translating to Odinga’s yet another loss in a presidential contest.
To date, Murathe has never reacted to President Ruto’s win and still remains unseen in the public glare.
-Peter Kenneth- Raila Cheerleader
The former Gatanga MP was a visible figure during the Azimio rallies and hardly ever missed one.
In the Mt. Kenya region where Kenneth hails from, he was the region’s point man for Odinga.
Kenneth who vied in the 2013 presidential election was angling for a comeback in 2022 seeking to be Mt. Kenya’s kingpin but former President Kenyatta’s endorsement of Odinga dashed his ambition.
Kenneth was eyeing the blessings of the former President to be the region’s kingpin.
With his dreams dashed, Kenneth – commonly referred to as the Murang’a white man owing to his skin complexion had no option but to back Odinga.
He was among the Azimio-leaning leaders in the region who led the chorus that “Odinga had finally climbed the mountain” in what ultimately turned out to be incorrect.
“It is Odinga’s time and the people of the mountain have accepted him and victory will be his. The mountain will not be in the opposition,” he once said during the campaigns.
From the ten Mt. Kenya counties, Odinga secured 847, 709 votes against Ruto who got 2, 938, 309 votes.
Kenneth was once considered Odinga’s running mate until Martha Karua beat him to the ticket.
The seven-member panel constituted by Odinga to look for a suitable running mate interviewed both Kenneth and Karua.
Kenneth was last seen in the public glare on August 22, 2022, when Odinga physically filed his presidential petition at the then Supreme Court’s temporary base in Milimani Courts in Nairobi.
He was among the Azimio leaders who carried the bundles of documents that made up Odinga’s petition.
Kenneth has equally kept a low profile since President Ruto’s win and has never congratulated him.
-Moved on-
Whereas Murathe and Kenneth are the two outstanding Azimio leaders who have kept a low profile following Odinga’s loss, other loyalists in the outfit appear to have accepted the verdict and moved on.
The outspoken nominated lawmaker in the 12th Parliament Maina Kamanda who was arguably the most vocal leader rooting for Odinga’s candidature during the campaigns has since admitted that the Azimio candidate lost fair and square.
He attributed Odinga’s polls loss to former President Kenyatta whom he accused of failing to accommodate the ideas of other leaders.
“When the leader limp rest assured the flock will not reach the pasture,” he said on September 9, 2022.
Central Organizations of Trade Unions Secretary General Francis Atwoli a once bitter critic of President Ruto has since aligned and asked Odinga supporters to move on and accept Ruto’s presidency.
“The election is over and Ruto is the President. Kenya must move on,” he said.
Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni an ardent supporter of Odinga on August 12, 2022, acknowledged that “we have paid the ultimate price for supporting Odinga”.
Kioni lost his Ndaragwa parliamentary seat to United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate George Gachagua.
“For the first time since 1963, we have volunteered ourselves into the opposition. It is an embarrassment,” he stated.
Former President Kenyatta – the Azimio patron – has also since moved on and is enjoying his quiet retirement away from the public glare.
