Information on the reaction of former president Uhuru Kenyatta after learning that his then-deputy, William Ruto, had defeated Azimio leader Raila Odinga in the 2022 election has come to light.
Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni revealed in an exclusive interview that Uhuru convened a meeting with the leaders of Azimio la Umoja as soon as he realized his plan to dethrone Ruto had failed.
Despite his steadfast support for Raila in the polls, Uhuru made it plain that he wanted to oversee a smooth transfer of power to Ruto, according to Kioni.
The former President, according to Kioni, had sworn to make sure that there would be no bloodshed as a result of the very polarizing election process.
At a time when the country was eagerly awaiting news, Kioni disclosed that the previous President made the decision to uphold the law despite the objections voiced by his coalition regarding the openness of the voting process.
Kioni said, “Of course, he had his favored choice, but even when the preferred candidate was not made public by the IEBC or the Supreme Court, the first thing he did was to call us and inform us that we would still transfer power.
We don’t know what goes through a president’s mind since we haven’t been one, but you can probably guess from our interactions with him that he didn’t want a single drop of blood spilled over this election. Therefore, whatever it takes, we must do it, he continued.
Kioni acknowledged that the handover did not signify that the opposition camp had conceded defeat, but he said his party is delighted to have orchestrated a peaceful change in the balance of power.
He continued by saying that despite knowing there were preparations to jeer and heckle him at Kasarani Stadium, the President insisted he would still turn up to fulfill his commitment.
He did in fact state that he will visit Kasarani. He was determined to act honorably while being aware that they would jeer and ridicule him.
Some members of Azimio had questioned his involvement in the election and blamed him for Raila’s defeat in his fifth bid for the president.
