Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Oburu Odinga has responded to former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s claim that his late brother, Raila Odinga, won the 2022 presidential election.
In a statement dated Thursday, September 24, Oburu said Uhuru’s remarks confirmed what ODM had maintained after the August 2022 election, but questioned why the former president had chosen to raise the issue four years later.
“For ODM, this confirms what we believed and maintained at the time. However, after exhausting the constitutional avenues available to us, we chose to let the matter rest and move the country forward,” Oburu said.
Uhuru revived the disputed election during a Jubilee Party meeting in Nairobi on September 22, saying he remained convinced that Raila had won the presidential vote.
“We did everything to help Baba become the President of the Republic of Kenya. He got the votes, and to this day I know that he is the one who won those votes,” Uhuru said.
The former president also questioned how the political coalition supporting Raila could have performed strongly in parliamentary, senatorial and gubernatorial contests but failed to secure the presidency.
Oburu, however, said Uhuru owed Kenyans explanations after reopening the contentious issue.
“Now that President Kenyatta has chosen to exhume the deeply painful question of the 2022 election, he owes Kenyans some answers,” the ODM leader said.
He posed three questions to the former president, asking why the revelation had become important four years later rather than when the alleged electoral injustice occurred.
Oburu also questioned why Uhuru's government facilitated the transfer of power to William Ruto if the former president was convinced that Raila had won.
“Third, what exactly does President Kenyatta expect the Kenyan people to do with this information today?” he asked.
The ODM leader said the 2022 election concerned the sovereignty of Kenyan voters and the legitimacy of government, arguing that the contest should not be reduced to contemporary political messaging.
“The 2022 election and the sacrifices of our departed Party Leader must not be reduced to material for contemporary vote-winning propaganda,” Oburu said.
Ruto was officially declared the winner of the 2022 presidential election with 7,176,141 votes against Raila's 6,942,930. The Supreme Court subsequently dismissed petitions challenging the result and upheld Ruto's election.
Oburu challenged Uhuru to provide “the whole story” now that he had reopened the debate.