Kalonzo bets on past relationship with the late Raila to woo Nyanza

Wiper Patriotic Front Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka.[File, Standard]

Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has invoked his long political partnership with the late Raila Odinga in an apparent attempt to connect with the former opposition leader’s support base in Nyanza, insisting that he stood by his former political ally in successive presidential contests and did everything possible to help him become President.

Speaking at Ndori Market in Siaya County on Sunday, September 27, 2026, Musyoka repeatedly referred to his political history with Raila as he criticised President William Ruto and accused his administration of failing to honour commitments made in a 10-point agreement with the late ODM leader.

Musyoka said his association with Raila was based on his belief in the former Prime Minister’s political agenda, recalling their partnership in the 2013, 2017 and 2022 presidential elections.

The visit comes as Kalonzo and other opposition leaders seek to consolidate support in Nyanza, a region that for years formed the political base of Raila, following his death. Kalonzo's current mobilisation drive in the region has been widely framed around his long association with Raila and the late opposition leader's political legacy.

“In 2013 we won the elections with Raila Odinga, I being a running mate, but it was stolen, and we have even learned Ruto is the one who rigged this, not Uhuru,” Kalonzo said.

He accused Ruto of subsequently turning against former President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was his running mate in the 2013 election, and questioned the President's leadership.

“Now Ruto again is there abusing Uhuru all over. And mark you, we have reports that he even wanted to slap Uhuru Kenyatta back then. This is not a leader and that's why we say he is a one-term president,” he said.

Kalonzo, however, maintained in 2013 that the election was manipulated, saying the opposition had secured enough votes across different regions but that the results were altered.

“Ruto is the one who stole our votes with Raila. Now its clear, he doesn't have any votes here in Nyanza. He has some small portion in Rift Valley,” he said.

He also recalled his contribution to Raila's presidential campaigns, saying he helped mobilise votes for the former Prime Minister in his own political stronghold and that other leaders did the same in their respective regions.

“In Western, Oparanya and I ensured that Raila got votes, the same in Eastern. Kalonzo gave him votes from that region, the same from Coast and Nairobi,” he said.

Kalonzo's visit to Busia and the wider Siaya tour follows the recent rebranding of Azimio la Umoja as the Ukombozi Alliance, with Kalonzo taking the coalition's mobilisation efforts into Nyanza.

Former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju, who accompanied Kalonzo during the Nyanza engagements, has also urged residents of the region to receive the Wiper leader as one of their own, pointing to his long political association with Raila.

Kalonzo used the occasion to portray himself as a politician who remained committed to Raila's cause, saying his support for the late ODM leader was not merely electoral but based on their shared political journey.

“Raila won the elections, and you stole it,” he said, directly addressing Ruto.

He also aimed Ruto over what he described as continued violations of human rights, linking the concerns to the 10-point agenda that the President and Raila agreed on before Raila's death.

“The 10-point agenda that was signed with Raila has gone,” Kalonzo said, arguing that issues the agreement was intended to address remain unresolved.

He cited the reported abduction and torture of human rights activist Collins Otieno from Gem as an example of what he described as the continued mistreatment of government critics.

“Since the abduction is still ongoing, Collins was recently abducted because of being a human rights defender. Him and Musembi were abducted and tortured,” he said.

Kalonzo also criticised the government's handling of taxation, saying Kenyans who have demonstrated against the high cost of living and taxation have faced violence.

“Ruto's problem is the tax they collect and steal it, and when Gen Z are demonstrating about it they are shot,” he said.

He further referred to the late Raila as he questioned why the government was continuing with policies that, in his view, contradicted the commitments made during Raila's lifetime.

“In 2022, Uhuru was with Raila, that's for sure. Now, here at Akala, I'm here to say this: this is the time for Ukombozi. We want this rigging of elections to end,” he said.

Kalonzo also claimed that Ruto's previous remarks about Raila had now come to pass, referring to the President's earlier statements that he would take Raila to Bondo.

“Ruto said he would bring Raila to Bondo without knowing, and now yes, he brought him,” Kalonzo said.

The Wiper leader also sought to contrast his political relationship with Raila with what he described as the current administration's treatment of the late opposition leader's agenda.

“Kenya wants visionary leaders like Tuju. Now I love how he has accompanied me and we agreed Ruto is one term, and Ruto has no votes here, maybe Sugoi. And this issue of abduction is what Raila didn't want,” he said.

Kalonzo's remarks were echoed by DAP-Kenya leader Eugene Wamalwa, who also invoked Raila's electoral record while attacking Ruto's administration.

Wamalwa claimed that Raila secured substantial support in several parts of the country during the 2013 election and accused the electoral authorities of declaring an outcome that did not reflect the opposition's tally.

“In Western, Oparanya and I ensured that Raila got votes, the same in Eastern. Kalonzo gave him votes from that region, the same from Coast and Nairobi, and Ruto won from Rift Valley and Central. That's it,” Wamalwa said.

He further claimed that the figures announced by then IEBC chairman late Wafula Chebukati did not reflect what the opposition believed were the actual results.

“What Chebukati said, that was false. The votes were doctored,” Wamalwa said.

Wamalwa also declared that opposition leaders had made significant inroads across regions, claiming that Kisii, Western Kenya, Ukambani and parts of central Kenya were now within their political reach.

“We have walked all over. Kisii is locked by Matiang'i, Western too, Ukambani too we have locked Mt Kenya, and now Ruto thinks he will get from Rift Valley and Nyanza. That's false,” he said.

He further accused the government of deploying senior officials to seek support beyond Kenya's borders, mentioning Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.

Democratic Party leader, Justin Muturi, who also spoke during the tour, accused the President and CS Murkomen of making decisions that he said bypassed established national security structures.

“Ruto and CS Murkomen, they have made a decision to bypass an important security organ called the National Security Council,” Muturi said.

He criticised comments on the opening of Kenya's borders, arguing that such decisions should be handled within the country's established security framework.

“We are saying this National Security Council should not be misused by him and Murkomen saying that all borders be opened. That is going against what the council says,” he said.

Muturi also accused the government of mismanaging public property and alleged that sugar companies in Nyanza had been privatised for the benefit of individuals in government.

“Ruto is stealing public property. For example, here in Nyanza he has privatised sugar companies for him to continue quenching,” Muturi said.