Kitutu Chache South MP Anthony Kibagendi, on Monday, April 7, countered claims by ODM Chair Gladys Wanga that former President Uhuru Kenyatta sabotaged the late Raila Odinga's presidential bid in 2022.
Kibagendi stated that Uhuru did his part in setting up Raila perfectly in the Mount Kenya region, but Luo Nyanza's low voter turnout cost the former Premier the top seat.
The MP argued that the Retired President invested political capital and state machinery and delivered more votes from the Mountain despite heavy resistance.
"Despite that resistance, Raila Odinga still secured approximately 1.3 million votes from the region—clear evidence of that support," Kibagendi wrote.
The lawmaker opined that in Luo Nyanza, more than 700,000 voters failed to cast the ballot, a move he termed as the greatest failure in Raila's presidential bid.
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He argued that Raila would have easily closed the 200,000 vote margin between him and President William Ruto, or in the worst-case scenario, forced a run-off.
"A modest improvement in turnout, just 300,000 additional voters, would likely have decisively changed the outcome of that election. Even more striking, a turnout increase of just 25,000 votes could have forced a runoff by denying any candidate the constitutional threshold of 50% + 1, fundamentally altering the trajectory of the race," the MP stated.
Kibagendi revisited allegations that Raila could have ve been sabotaged by those in his inner circle, who were lacklustre in securing the election in favour of the departed ODM leader.
He argued that some of the leaders who ripped big from the influence of Raila, including those who received direct party nominations, were not concerned with returning the favour to Odinga by doing the bare minimum.
"They failed in critical areas such as agent deployment, parallel tallying, and voter mobilisation. Today, rather than taking responsibility, they continue to deflect blame and mislead the public," the statement read in part.
Kinagendi told the Homa Bay County Governor and the ODM battalion attacking Uhuru to take accountability for their role in botching the 2022 election.
He stated that Luo Nyanza would suffer in the hands of complacent and entitled leadership that prioritised individual political survival over collective success.
His sentiments came after Wanga insinuated that Uhuru's support for Raila was part of a long con game.
The Homa Bay County Chief and some ODM leaders allied to the Lind Ground have attacked the former President over his recent claims that he had warned the Mountain not to vote for Ruto.
The leaders bashed Uhuru, stating that his warnings to the mountain were of no significance to Raila's bid, as the former Prime Minister still lost the election.
In addition, they attacked Uhuru for his continued criticism of Ruto's government and asked him to stay clear of politics and retire peacefully.
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