Raila: Gideon Moi is not from a dynasty

Raila Odinga attended KANU's endorsement of Gideon Moi as its presidential candidate. [File, Standard]

ODM leader Raila Odinga says the Kenya African National Union (KANU) Chairperson Gideon Moi has the right, like any other Kenyan, to contest for the presidency, and that his family background shouldn’t be used to discriminate against him.

Speaking at the Bomas of Kenya on Thursday, September 30, during the KANU National Delegates Conference, Odinga said the “dynasty” tag used in political circles to refer to the Mois, Odingas and the Kenyatta's, is discriminatory.

“Mzee Daniel Moi, Gideon’s father, was an ordinary teacher. Mzee [Jomo] Kenyatta was a metre reader. Both rose from lowly positions to become Heads of State,” said Odinga.

According to the ODM chief, Gideon and his co-principals in the One Kenya Alliance (OKA) have the right to run for the presidency, their economic backgrounds notwithstanding.

KANU chairman Gideon Moi and ODM leader Raila Odinga during the Kanu National Delegates Conference in Nairobi on September 30, 2021. (Denish Ochieng, Standard)

Kalonzo Musyoka of Wiper Party and Musalia Mudavadi of Amani National Congress, who complete the OKA quartet, were present at the event.

“Sell your agenda to Kenyans, and if they buy it, well and good,” Odinga told Gideon Moi.

The former prime minister said he was open to working with Gideon Moi ahead of the 2022 General Election.

The delegates conference would culminate in a major announcement by KANU on what direction the Party would take in 2022.

Last week, Gideon Moi said he wouldn’t mind working with Raila Odinga in the run-up to next year’s polls.

It is reported that President Uhuru Kenyatta is keen on seeing the OKA principals working closely with Raila Odinga so as to shore up numbers and increase their chances of victory in 2022.

Kenyatta is reported to have a soft spot for Odinga candidature.