By Anderson Ojwang
Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga may be dead and with only less than a month to his first anniversary, but in his grave he continues to dictate the country’s politics.
On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, former President Uhuru Kenyatta opened a Pandora’s box over the 2022 presidential election result.
A Pandora’s box which is likely to be a double-edged sword and may cut deeper back to Raila’s loss at the last four presidential elections, namely 2007, 2013, 2017 and 2022.
Uhuru’s statement that he believed the late Raila Amolo Odinga won the 2022 presidential election was a powerful admission that Raila could have been rigged out.
Uhuru, then President, was the holder of Kenya’s first-hand raw intelligence, consumer and his statement cannot be taken for granted.
So Uhuru has finally let the cat out of the bag over the series of allegations by Raila and his supporters that he had won all the subsequent general elections, but his ‘victory’ was allegedly stolen and instead adopted the philosophy of accept and move on.
What did former President Uhuru say?
Uhuru said, “We supported Raila as Jubilee and members of the Azimio Coalition and we did all that to make him President.”
Uhuru said he believed Raila won the elections and that truth will finally come out.
“Raila won the election. I am convinced he won the presidential elections. I know that, we know what happened, those who want to know, know the truth,” he said.
Seats
Uhuru said Azimio La Umoja won the majority of MPs, Senators and governors’ seats against President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza.
“We had more MPs than the coalition. We had more senators and governors than the other coalition. How did we lose this? We know how it went and we do not want to go that route again,” he said.
We respected the Supreme Court
Uhuru said even if they did not agree with the Supreme Court ruling which upheld Ruto’s victory, he presided over a peaceful transfer of power.
“I will speak my truth. After the election and the Supreme Court gave verdict. We did not reject it and in a broad daylight we gave them instruments of power. There was no violence,” he said.
Uhuru wondered why Ruto and his allies kept on abusing and accusing him for their own failures.
“After four years, they keep on saying Uhuru this and that. Were you elected to talk about Uhuru? If it is not working, you must look for an object to blame and that is Uhuru Kenyatta. Kenyans know so well.”
UDA Reaction
United Democratic Alliance Secretary-General Hassan Omar said Uhuru has never healed from the humiliating defeat that he occasioned Raila at the hands of Ruto, even after employing state machinery.
“President Ruto won the 2022 election decisively and conclusively. For the past four years, Uhuru has constantly drowned in the reality of the loss and, the more devastatingly, the stamp of defeat that there was nothing he could do about it,” he wrote.
Hassan said Uhuru won the 2013 and 2017 General Elections after Ruto mounted a serious campaign for him as his deputy.
“Truth be told, Uhuru would not have even won the 2013 and 2017 elections were it not for the vigorous campaign mounted by Ruto, then as his running mate,” he wrote.
What others say
Former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria wrote on his social media platforms: “I have been involved in all Presidential Elections in the Multi-Party era. This is how I rate them, 1992 – Moi manipulated but won because opposition was divided, 1997 – Moi manipulated but won because opposition was divided, 2002 – Kibaki won free and fair, 2007 – Baba won, 2013 – Baba won, 2017 – Uhuru Kenyatta won. Maraga ruling was on technicalities, 2022 – William Ruto won, Ni hayo tu kwa sasa.”
What the media reported
2017
In 2017, the Supreme Court nullified the election of Uhuru, but he won the repeat election after Raila boycotted the exercise.
Al Jazeera on 6 August 2017 wrote: “Opposition leader Raila Odinga has warned against rigging the result of the general election, just two days before Kenyans cast their votes.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, the former Kenyan prime minister said his party has put in place efforts to stop an alleged plot to tamper with results.
‘There are attempts to manipulate the results,’ Odinga said. ‘The only way Jubilee can win this election is by rigging.
‘They have no other way. We are more than confident that we are going to get a decisive victory on Tuesday.’”
The Star Newspaper on 22 January 2019 wrote: “NASA leader Raila Odinga has noted he is not ‘power-hungry’ but part of a team that will end electoral rigging in Africa.
Raila insisted that the Opposition and its supporters will not allow President Uhuru Kenyatta’s October 26 re-election to stand.
This, he said, is on grounds it sets a bad example for future generations.
‘Raila Odinga is not power-hungry. I want to see democracy properly established in our country. Currently, we have autocracy where elections are just a ritual incumbents do after every five years,’ he said in an interview with Al Jazeera.”**
2013 election
Voice of America wrote: “Kenyan prime minister and presidential candidate Raila Odinga has accused government officials of using their influence to support his rivals. The prime minister’s campaign claimed there is a wider scheme to rig Kenya’s presidential election on March 4.
Speaking to reporters at a Nairobi airport Thursday, Odinga said the head of civil service, Francis Kimemia, has been working behind the scenes to support his political rivals in the Jubilee Coalition.
‘That the current head of public service has basically become an activist of a political party,’ said Odinga. ‘He is the one who is recruiting and funding the campaigns of the other side.’
Odinga’s campaign team has accused Kimemia and other government officials of giving instructions to district officers to rally support for Jubilee, commit electoral fraud and to suppress voter turnout in Odinga strongholds.
The prime minister said if Kimemia wants to be involved in politics, he should quit his position.
Uhuru Kenyatta, the Jubilee coalition’s presidential candidate, has denied all allegations of vote-rigging.”
If anything, Uhuru’s statement has opened the Pandora’s box, and in the 2027 election, the issue is likely to gain significance.
