Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi has revealed how they worked as a team to demonise the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga during the 2007, 2013 and 2017 presidential elections.
In the year 2007, Odinga ran against then incumbent President Mwai Kibaki, who was gunning for a second term under the Party of National Unity (PNU) umbrella.
Although Kibaki subsequently secured a re-election, the polls were hotly contested plunging the country into a post election violence that saw at least 1,300 people lose their lives and over half a million others displaced.
In 2013, Odinga ran against President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, but lost. He, however, disputed the polls but his petition at the Supreme Court was not successful.
While addressing the Ameru Community during a meeting at a city hotel on Thursday, September 2, the Meru Governor revealed that they had crafted a strategy to demonise the ODM leader in the Mt Kenya region.
Kiraitu narrated that the strategy worked as it created a repulsion against the former Prime Minister by the mountain region electorate.
“In order for us to retain our presidency in the General Election of 2007 during Kibaki’s campaign and 2017 during President Uhuru's candidature, we came up with some fictitious narratives that damaged Raila’s reputation in the region,” narrated the Governor.
The Governor, who was part of Kibaki's inner circle and Uhuru's supporter, noted that the propaganda was so phenomenal to an extent that the current lot of Mt Kenya MPs find it difficult and are afraid of selling Raila’s candidature in the region.
Kiraitu, who is serving his first term as the Governor of the vote-rich county of Meru, however, told the gathering that Raila was not bad as they had been made to believe and that his candidature was welcome in the region.
“Kibaki has retired from politics and Uhuru is not going to run for the presidency come 2022. Now the time is ripe to sell Jakom (Raila) in the region,” stated Kiraitu.
The Governor narrated that his interaction with Odinga dates back to 1984 when he was a young lawyer and in the frontline defending the former Prime Minister.
Odinga, who was in attendance, said that he enjoyed a cordial relationship with the Ameru people, expressing optimism that they will support his candidature come next year.
