The Jubilee Party has firmly rejected statements made by ODM leader Raila Odinga, who claimed that former President Uhuru Kenyatta played a role in pushing for a power-sharing arrangement with President William Ruto’s administration.
Speaking during a live interview on Citizen Radio on Monday morning, Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni strongly dismissed Raila’s assertions. He accused the ODM leader of unfairly dragging both the Jubilee Party and Uhuru Kenyatta into a political narrative that doesn’t concern them.
Kioni said that Raila’s remarks appeared aimed at portraying the former President and Jubilee in a negative light, particularly in relation to the performance of the current Kenya Kwanza government.
Kioni emphasized that such claims are misleading and said it was wrong to involve Jubilee in a matter it had nothing to do with.
“I’m not here to confirm whether those claims are true or false, but the reality is, this country is facing serious issues. We disagree completely with the suggestion that it was Uhuru who came up with the idea of having ODM technocrats join Ruto’s government.
That decision was purely ODM’s doing,” Kioni explained. “It’s unfair to reduce such a complex and important matter to mere political games.”
He further criticized Raila for seemingly trying to pass the responsibility of collaborating with President Ruto onto others. Kioni argued that if Raila genuinely wanted to work with Ruto, that was a personal choice he should own, rather than dragging others into it.
“Please don’t involve former President Uhuru Kenyatta or the Jubilee Party in your political decisions. If you chose to cooperate with a government you previously opposed, that’s your burden to carry.
Don’t shift the blame. That just shows a lack of seriousness about finding real solutions for the problems Kenyans are facing,” Kioni added.
He reiterated that the Jubilee Party was currently focused on rebuilding itself and playing a constructive role in governance. He said Jubilee was not interested in being pulled into public debates about who influenced government appointments or political realignments.
These remarks came a day after Raila Odinga, during an interview with NTV on Sunday, July 20, claimed that former President Uhuru Kenyatta had reached out to him while abroad to encourage dialogue with President Ruto.
According to Raila, this phone call came at a time when the country was going through intense political pressure and street protests over the controversial Finance Bill.
Raila recounted:
“During that tense period, my friend and former President Uhuru Kenyatta called me from the United States. He told me that although he knew I didn’t want to engage with Ruto, I should consider talking to him for the sake of the country.”
Odinga further explained that he didn’t go out of his way to meet the President—instead, it was President Ruto who reached out and requested to meet with him. They eventually agreed to hold talks aimed at calming the political environment in the country.
Despite initial strong resistance from Azimio leaders toward working with the government, Raila said ODM later resolved to send a few experts into cabinet-level roles.
The move, he explained, was driven by a desire to help solve Kenya’s persistent economic and social crises—not by a desire to join the Kenya Kwanza administration politically.
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