'If Uhuru couldn’t make Raila president, how will he make Matiang’i?' - Atwoli

Speaking on Citizen TV's JKLive show, Atwoli claimed that the lack of clear engagement from Uhuru left Raila’s campaign machinery uncertain about its standing, echoing sentiments previously raised by Suna East MP Junet Mohamed.

“Uhuru appeared to be supporting Baba, but at no point did he convene a meeting with the people who were on the frontline campaigning for Raila. Maybe he was meeting Baba, with about two or three people. But openly, he neither came out to see the brigade supporting Raila nor gave us a sense of direction,” Atwoli stated. 

“This is what Junet was explaining. You couldn't know what was happening. Baba was an honest man; he couldn't have received the money and not paid the agents."

Atwoli further cast doubt on Uhuru’s endorsement of Matiang’i, warning that political goodwill without grassroots influence will be insufficient to secure the presidency.

“I now hear he is saying he wants Matiang’i to be President. If Matiang’i is not careful with his own moves, Uhuru will not make him the President. If he didn’t make Raila, how can he make Matiang’i to be a president?” Atwoli posed.

“Even in his constituency, if he couldn't get an MCA of Jubilee or MP?”

Atwoli argued that while Uhuru may have desired Raila’s victory, he lacked the political muscle to deliver it. 

“He might have wished Raila to be president, but he didn't have the ability to make him president; wishing and having the ability are different,” he said.

Turning to the future of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), Atwoli dismissed claims that the party was on its deathbed, insisting it could still stabilise and reorganise in Raila’s absence.

“It is not the end of the road for ODM. They can still salvage ODM. ODM, in the absence of Raila Odinga, they have got to undergo all those teething problems until when they will reach somewhere and settle,” he said.

Atwoli expressed confidence in the party’s current leadership, noting, “I think to me, ODM is in the right hands with Oburu (Oginga) at the helm.”

According to the COTU SG, the simmering differences between ODM members would likely have been muted had Raila still been alive and at the helm of the party politics.