Farah Maalim asks Raila Odinga to ‘hand over’ to Kalonzo Musyoka
Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga has been warned against contesting for the presidency in 2027.
Odinga is still smarting from a dramatic and narrow loss to President William Ruto in the August 2022 polls.
Ruto garnered 7,176,141 votes against Odinga’s 6,942,930 which translates to 50.49 percent and 48.85 percent respectively.
Now aged 78, the seasoned Odinga is yet to announce his political move amid suggestions he’ll likely retire.
But Wiper deputy party leader Farah Maalim says it will be a ‘mistake’ for Odinga to attempt another stab at the presidency.
Maalim has further encouraged Odinga to pass over the mantle to Kalonzo Musyoka.
“If Raila Odinga does not pass the mantle to Kalonzo Musyoka and natures the possibility of running again, he is going to end up with something like what he had in 1997 when he had around 667,00 votes,” warned Maalim.
Maalim spoke in an interview with TV 47, adding it is time for Odinga to return the favour to Kalonzo who has supported him in 2013, 2017, and 2022.
“Kalonzo had an option of joining Ruto but did not. He stuck with Odinga.”
In the 1997 polls, Raila was third, behind then President Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki.
In 2007, Raila Odinga finished second behind deceased president Mwai Kibaki in what remains the most hotly contested presidential election in Kenyan history.
Odinga also finished second to former president Uhuru Kenyatta in the 2013 and 2017 polls.
Odinga maintains strong support in Western Kenya, especially among the Luo Nyanza and Kisii, plus among the Luhyas, at the Coast, and in Nairobi.
Kalonzo, a former vice-president, is the defacto Kingpin of the Ukambani region
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