Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) communication director Philip Etale has called out a local newspaper which ran a headline with a strong narrative against his boss, Raila Odinga.
The publication shared that it had a sitdown with Raila, in which he spoke widely about his role in salvaging President William Ruto's regime from collapse in the face of a lethal revolution engineered by the Kenyan youth in June 2024.
The newspaper headlined its front page as "Raila: I saved Ruto from military coup."
It sparked wild reactions from the internet users, the majority of whom blasted the veteran politician for leveraging the anxiety to make his way into the government.
The reactions prompted Etale to weigh in on the matter, accusing the newspaper of what he argued was sensationalism.
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He called out the senior editor, perhaps without noting that the headline emanated from an exclusive interview the newspaper had with Raila.
Etale presumed that the headline was crafted out of Raila's speech at the funeral of retired Colonel James Gitahi in Machakos county on Saturday, March 15.
"With due respect to your company, the headline in today’s newspaper is a total misrepresentation of facts. Nowhere in his speech at the funeral of Col. Gitahi did Raila Odinga say anything related to what you have splashed. This is irresponsible journalism that, if not well checked, can plunge this country into chaos. Accuracy of facts is core in journalism," Etale protested.
Meanwhile, in his speech at the Machakos funeral, Raila urged Kenyans to be patient and allow Ruto time to work on his plans.
He said the country cannot be taken through a full-time politicking mode when there is a lot of work that needs to be done.
Raila urged the Kenyans aggrieved by the shortcomings of Ruto's government to wait until 2027 when they can use the ballot to effect a regime change.
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