Prominent political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi has recently made startling claims regarding his involvement in the 2022 Kenyan presidential elections and the dynamics surrounding key political figures.
In an interview with NTV, Ngunyi revealed that former President Uhuru Kenyatta coerced him into supporting Raila Odinga during the run-up to the elections.
Ngunyi, renowned for his political strategy expertise, alleged that his bank accounts were frozen on two occasions when he hesitated to throw his support behind Raila Odinga. He also mentioned that he had worked for former President Kenyatta.
According to Ngunyi, Kenyatta shifted his allegiance from his initial plan to support Deputy President William Ruto for the presidency and instead endorsed Raila Odinga.
“Mr Kenyatta defected from the original idea of Jubilee (party). He decided to support Raila Odinga. At that time I was supporting both of them (Uhuru and Raila). I remember at that time I told Uhuru we might have a problem in trying to sell Raila in Central Kenya because the Ruto wave appears unstoppable,” says Ngunyi.
President Ruto emerged as the victor with a narrow margin, defeating Raila Odinga by a relatively small number of votes.
Notably, Ruto garnered a substantial 75% of the votes cast in Central Kenya, the traditional stronghold of former President Kenyatta.
In addition to revealing the political maneuvering, Ngunyi highlighted purported challenges faced by Ruto during his visits to State House, the official residence of the President.
Ngunyi claimed that Ruto was relegated to using staff toilets instead of the VVIP facilities and suggested that these actions were designed to undermine Ruto’s standing.
Ngunyi also disclosed a potentially divisive campaign strategy employed during the elections. He alleged that the government secretly funded the flashy campaign of presidential candidate George Wajackoyah to deliberately irritate Ruto.
This strategy involved coordinating Wajackoyah’s campaign launch to coincide with Ruto’s own campaign events.
Furthermore, Ngunyi accused former President Kenyatta of resisting retirement from the political scene after leaving office.
Despite handing over the presidency, Kenyatta was alleged to be maintaining an active role in politics, according to Ngunyi.
