“I would like to tell Deputy President William Ruto that he will not ascend to the presidency without my political support.” – Raila

National Super Alliance (NASA) leader Raila Odinga has warned DP Ruto of failing to clinch the presidency in 2022.

According to an article published on page 5 of The Standard on January 26, Raila told Ruto to strive to reach out to him if he wanted to win in 2022, adding that that was the only way the DP would be guaranteed victory against his competitors in the next General Election.

Speaking in Kipkelion East on Thursday, Raila also warned Ruto that he risked being rigged out by some Mt Kenya politicians, who were already plotting on how to oust the DP.

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Here are Raila’s exact words as written in the paper: 

“I dare say right here in Kericho that the planned swearing-in of Raila will go on as scheduled. Raila Odinga has nothing to fear. He has been jailed before for nine years in the 1980s…he has seen the worst of Kenyan prisons. We are not out of our minds to claim that we won the election yet we were beaten. Even President Kenyatta knows he did not beat me in the election.”

He was speaking at ODM branch chairman in Kipkelion William Koech’s funeral, with COTU boss Francis Atwoli and Suna East MP Junet Mohammed in attendance.

Raila reiterated that he was still popular in Rift Valley and that Kenyans were the ones pushing for his swearing-in.


Junet also cautioned Rift Valley residents on relying upon support from the Mt Kenya region, saying promises given by politicians sometimes do not materialize.

“Members of the Kalenjin community are banking on a bunch of lies and political promises from Mt Kenya region leaders. Political pledges do not hold in politics,” said the Suna East MP. He also added that Raila’s promise to Ruto currently is the real deal.

The NASA leadership has insisted that Raila’s planned swearing-in will go on as scheduled, a day after the Nairobi County Government issued a notice informing the general public that Uhuru Park would remain closed until further notice.