Nairobi News

Former Mukurweini MP Kabando wa Kabando has said President Uhuru Kenyatta’s last minute campaign in the Mt Kenya region failed to materialize into votes for Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya Coalition presidential candidate Raila Odinga.

Kabando made the remarks on Thursday during an interview on Citizen TV as the tallying process continued.

“Uhuru did not help Raila in the last days. The interviews he did, the meetings he attended… leadership was totally absent,” Mr Kabando said.

Kabando, who has since conceded defeat in the Nyeri senatorial race, also said there was mischievous handling of the president’s visit to the region, and that Azimio la Umoja expected about 30 per cent of the votes from the president’s supporters in Mt Kenya region.

“We were expecting Raila to get something between 30 and 35 per cent, but now when you look it’s about 15 to 17 per cent,” he said.

He added that President Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party had been massacred in Mt Kenya region by Deputy President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA).

“To concede defeat is to accept that whether there is emotion, whether people are voting out of anger, whether people are rebelling but the verdict largely reflect the will of the people… there was no way Kabando wa Kabando was going to win the same seat in Nyeri when the majority of the voters decided to elect every Member of Parliament in Nyeri, the Governor, the Woman Rep, the Senator and over 25 out of 30 MCAs from UDA,” he said.

“It is simply the resentment and anger and the rebellion that disadvantaged even the most qualified and the most visionary,” he added.

In his last campaign, President Kenyatta urged voters in Mt Kenya region not to vote for his deputy, saying Dr Ruto can not be trusted to take the leadership of the country. The president also said the region’s interests would be well taken care of if Mr Odinga wins.