NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 22 – National Assembly Minority Leader and Suna East MP Junet Mohammed has made explosive claims that Raila Odinga could have won the 2017 presidential election had powerful figures within government fully supported his bid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking during an interview, Junet said some senior state officials privately told him that Raila would lose against then Deputy President William Ruto, even as ODM and Azimio leaders publicly campaigned on a platform of regime change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are very senior people who were in government who told me, to my face, that in a contest between Raila and Ruto, Raila would lose. If they wanted Baba to be president, he would have been president. I can tell you that,\u201d Junet said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Junet claimed the opposition went into the election carrying what he described as \u2018government baggage\u2019 following the 2018 handshake, which, in his view, weakened the political will among key state actors to aggressively safeguard the vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He explained that some people who were expected to defend the vote appeared indifferent to the final outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe should have run that election without associating ourselves with the government the way we did. It was baggage that we carried,\u201d Junet said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Junet said the lack of urgency among powerful players was telling when he was pressed on whether he believed Raila was deliberately denied victory<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey didn\u2019t care enough. If they wanted us to win, we would have won, which is really sad,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Junet stopped short of naming the officials he accused, saying he would reveal details in a future book, but maintained that the truth about what happened in 2017 would eventually come out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe story must come out one day. I don\u2019t want to pre-empt the book I want to write,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the claims, Junet declined to directly accuse former President Uhuru Kenyatta, saying he preferred to \u2018let bygones be bygones\u2019 and focus on current political realities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet them not distract us from where we want to go now. We can\u2019t afford two distractions the last election and the next election,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Junet contrasted the 2017 experience with the current political environment under President William Ruto, noting that ODM leaders now hold senior government positions under the broad-based arrangement, unlike in the past when the party remained entirely outside government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt least now, our deputy party leaders are in government, the chairman is in Cabinet, former minority leaders are ministers. That time we didn\u2019t even have a minister for toilet for five years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Minority Leader also claimed that confusion and indecision persisted even after voting, alleging that senior officials contacted him seeking advice despite having full access to state machinery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne powerful man called me after the election and asked what we should do, yet he had everything at his disposal. I am a small man in Parliament. What could I do?\u201d Junet said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Junet downplayed reports of a growing rift between him and ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna, terming their public exchanges a mere divergence of opinion that does not threaten unity within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Suna East MP said the differences between senior party figures should not be mistaken for personal hostility or factional warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, nothing serious. It\u2019s a divergence of opinion. He believes that way, I believe in this way. Nothing personal,\u201d Junet said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The MP insisted that internal debate remains part of democratic party culture, but maintained that individual views must ultimately give way to collective decisions once party organs make a determination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe decision of the party will prevail in the end. We can have different opinions, you can say this way, I say that way. But when the party makes a decision, that\u2019s what Baba taught us. We will all abide by it,\u201d he said, referring to ODM party leader Raila Odinga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The remarks come amid renewed debate within ODM over succession politics and the party\u2019s long-term leadership direction, with some leaders drawing parallels with past splits in Kenya\u2019s opposition movements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Junet rejected comparisons with the 1990s fallout between Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and Kenneth Matiba, arguing that the current political environment and constitutional framework leave little room for parallel power centres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat time they separated because Matiba wanted to run for president and Jaramogi was running for president. Now, who is running for president? Our Constitution is very clear. If we were to run someone, we could only run Oburu Odinga. He\u2019s the presidential candidate because that\u2019s what the Constitution says. So the rest are just giving opinions,\u201d Junet said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Junet also dismissed claims that ODM lost past elections due to internal betrayal, instead blaming voter behaviour in some regions for the late Raila Odinga\u2019s defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the public exchanges, Junet maintained that ideological differences should not be mistaken for disloyalty, insisting that ODM remains intact and guided by collective decisions rather than individual ambitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t take agents\u2019 money. If Baba won the election, I would be a big man in this country. Baba lost the elections because people with surnames like yours didn\u2019t vote for him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this Sifuna launched a blistering attack on Junet, accusing him of hypocrisy and misusing funds donated by Uhuru to support Raila\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a fiery address, Sifuna reminded ODM supporters that Raila recorded his strongest-ever performance in the Mt. Kenya region in 2022, garnering over one million votes; a feat he attributed in large part to Uhuru\u2019s backing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sifuna openly thanked the former President for bankrolling the campaign, saying much of the money ODM used came directly from Uhuru.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He directly accused Junet of now pretending that Uhuru\u2019s money was \u201cdirty\u201d, despite having benefited from it at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sifuna went ahead to accuse Junet of pocketing campaign funds instead of paying agents, leading to Raila\u2019s defeat in key battlegrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He alleged that agents were abandoned on election day, allowing rivals to sal to victory, and went as far as to claim that but for Junet\u2019s actions, ODM would be in government today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Junet claimed the opposition went into the election carrying what he described as \u2018government baggage\u2019 following the 2018 handshake<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14288,"featured_media":764970,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,4625,26],"tags":[7115,40846,40847,40862,1981,40859,2875,40860,40856,40851,40866,40854,491,3075,40857,40849,40852,40863,40865,40858,7090,40853,1838,40848,40864,40855,40861,40850,1829,1844],"coauthors":[2156],"class_list":["post-791148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kenya","category-national-news","category-top-stories","tag-7115","tag-2017-kenyan-presidential-election","tag-2018-handshake-impact-on-elections","tag-effects-of-the-2018-handshake-on-odm-election-strategy","tag-featured","tag-how-government-officials-influenced-2017-kenyan-elections","tag-junet-mohammed","tag-junet-mohammed-2017-election-analysis","tag-junet-mohammed-claims-about-raila-odinga-2017","tag-junet-mohammed-interview","tag-junet-mohammed-political-revelations-and-upcoming-book","tag-junet-vs-sifuna-feud","tag-kenya","tag-kenya-politics","tag-kenyan-electoral-history","tag-kenyan-opposition-elections","tag-kenyan-political-dynamics","tag-kenyan-political-leadership-succession-odm","tag-key-figures-who-influenced-2017-kenyan-presidential-election","tag-odm-internal-party-disagreements-2026","tag-odm-party","tag-odm-succession-politics","tag-raila-odinga","tag-raila-odinga-2017-defeat","tag-raila-odinga-and-uhuru-kenyatta-2017-election-controversy","tag-raila-odinga-government-support","tag-sifuna-accuses-junet-mohammed-of-misusing-campaign-funds","tag-suna-east-mp-comments","tag-uhuru-kenyatta","tag-william-ruto"],"yoast_head":"\n