Jubilee Party Rejects Raila’s Claim That Uhuru Brokered Broad-Based Government Deal
The Jubilee Party has come out strongly to distance itself and former President Uhuru Kenyatta from recent remarks made by ODM leader Raila Odinga. Raila had claimed that it was Uhuru who played a key role in bringing together opposition figures and President William Ruto’s government to form a broad-based administration.
Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni addressed the issue during a Monday morning interview on Citizen Radio, where he outrightly rejected Raila’s claims.
Kioni said the ODM leader was attempting to wrongly associate Jubilee and the former Head of State with political moves they had no part in, painting both in a bad light.
Kioni emphasized that it was not right for Raila to involve Jubilee in the political debates surrounding the performance and structure of President Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration. He said the claims were misleading and seemed aimed at shifting blame unfairly.
“I’m not saying there’s any truth to what he’s alleging, but what I know is that Kenya is facing serious issues that need urgent attention. Linking Uhuru Kenyatta to ODM’s decision to collaborate with the government is wrong. That was a choice they made themselves. It is not fair to reduce such a critical matter to political games,” Kioni said.
He further argued that if Raila Odinga personally wanted to work with President Ruto, that was his own decision. Kioni urged him to take full responsibility instead of trying to drag others into it.
“Don’t involve Uhuru Kenyatta or the Jubilee Party in that decision. Don’t try to blame us for choosing to work with those you now call oppressors. If that’s the case, it means you’re not genuinely looking for real solutions to help this country move forward,” Kioni added.
He reaffirmed that Jubilee is currently focused on rebuilding and reorganizing itself as a political party. Their goal, he said, is to play a constructive role in Kenya’s governance and not get caught up in political blame games over appointments or alliances.
Kioni’s comments come in response to an interview Raila Odinga gave on Sunday, July 20, during a sit-down with NTV. In the interview, Raila revealed that Uhuru Kenyatta had called him while he was in the United States.
According to Raila, the former president urged him to initiate dialogue with President Ruto to help calm the political unrest the country faced last year during the widespread anti-Finance Bill demonstrations.
“At that moment, the political situation in Kenya was extremely tense. While I was reluctant to engage with President Ruto, Uhuru called me from the US and advised me to put the country’s interests first by opening communication,” Raila said.
Raila explained that he didn’t even make the first move. Instead, President Ruto himself reached out, asking to meet, and both sides agreed that talks were necessary for the sake of national stability.
Despite the Azimio coalition’s firm stance against cooperating with the government, Raila noted that his ODM party saw it fit to allow some of its professionals and technocrats to work with the government. The decision, he said, was made to help tackle Kenya’s persistent economic and social challenges.
However, Kioni maintained that this collaboration was a choice made by ODM alone, and it was unfair for Raila to drag Jubilee or Uhuru Kenyatta into the matter. He insisted that Jubilee had no involvement in initiating or supporting that move and was solely committed to pursuing its own political path.
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