President William Ruto and his predecessor Uhuru Kenya are locked in what appears to be a battle to win over late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s 2022 election support base.

📋 Breaking It Down

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s declaration that President William Ruto did not transparently defeat Raila Odinga in the 2022 presidential election has brought into sharp focus the do-or-die competition for the votes that could determine the 2027 General Election.

After Mr Kenyatta unsuccessfully tried to stop his then deputy from succeeding him in the 2022 election, he has now made it clear that he remains determined to challenge Dr Ruto’s political dominance ahead of next year’s poll.

The emerging battle is increasingly being fought around Dr Ruto’s 7,176,141 and Mr Odinga’s 6,942,930 garnered in 2022 and the question of where those numbers stand as the two sides realign.

📌 What You Need to Know

Mr Kenyatta’s latest claim that Mr Odinga actually won the election has reopened the bitter debate over the 2022 result. He has, however, not provided figures to support his assertion that the final result was the reverse of what was declared.

But the political significance of Mr Kenyatta’s latest intervention lies less in the legal status of the 2022 result than in how the claim is being deployed in the battle for the next election.

Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu told the Nation that what is worrying President Ruto about Mr Kenyatta’s claims is the political fallout in Mt Kenya, particularly after Dr Ruto fell out with his former deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, who was removed from office in October 2024 after two years as Deputy President.

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Then-President Uhuru Kenyatta (centre) raise their clasped hands with then-opposition leader and former Prime Minister, the late Raila Odinga (right) and then-Deputy President William Ruto (left) on November 27, 2019, during the launch of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report in Nairobi.

“This political fight is about Mr Kenyatta knowing that President Ruto has nearly lost the Mt Kenya voting bloc and is trying to compensate for that loss by winning over Mr Odinga’s voting bloc,” Mr Nyutu said.

📰 Source: Nation Africa