'They didn't want to make Raila president,' Junet on ODM's failed presidential bid

Speaking on Citizen TV’s JKLive show, Junet said Raila’s losses in successive presidential elections were not accidental but the result of deliberate resistance by influential actors who traditionally shape electoral outcomes in the country.

“Remember, up to Raila’s death, we were saying the servers should be opened. The people who normally make people president in Kenya did not want to make Raila president. That’s what I believe, without mentioning who’s who,” Junet said.

He added that the same individuals who had influenced past presidential victories were uncomfortable with Raila’s leadership and only pretended to support his candidacy.

“The people who made others president in 2007, 2013, and 2017 did not want to make Raila president. I think they were not very comfortable with him, maybe. They were camouflaging us that they were supporting him,” he noted.

Junet also turned his focus to voter behaviour, arguing that Raila’s defeat could not solely be blamed on the political system or elite interference. He said Kenyans themselves bore responsibility for making the elections too close despite Raila’s long record in public service.

“Many people voted for Baba and also many people did not vote for him. Considering the credentials of Baba and what he’s done for this country, the struggles he’s gone through, the Constitution he brought to this country, the last election should not have been contested, it should have been a margin of 60-40. It is Kenyans who made it a tight race,” Junet stated.

He went further to suggest that Raila did not receive adequate backing from the Mt Kenya region, claiming that a slight increase in voter turnout from the vote-rich area could have changed the outcome.

“I’m blaming people with your name. They did not vote for Baba, with your surname. If they had voted even 500,000 more, people with your name, today Baba would have died as the president,” the Minority Leader told show host Jeff Koinange.

Junet also appeared to fault Raila’s political allies, including former president Uhuru Kenyatta, for failing to fully mobilise support at the grassroots.

“His friend, the former president, did not take him to that area to tell the people that this is a good man. He was campaigning for him from his seat of power, the State House,” he said.

Host Jeff Koinange interjected, noting that Raila received an unprecedented 1.3 million votes from the region in question. Junet dismissed the figure as consistent with past elections.

“He’s been getting one million votes. Go and check the records from the last four times he ran,” Junet claimed.

During the interview, Junet also addressed claims that he was an ODM mole or that his actions may have contributed to Raila’s defeat. He strongly denied both assertions.

“I’m not an ODM mole. How can I be a mole in my own party, where I am a senior official with the responsibility to make sure the party succeeds?” he asked.

On allegations surrounding the handling of funds for election agents, Junet said he had publicly stated how the money was supposed to be managed and challenged those involved to account for the process.

“I have said on my socials where the money is and how the money was supposed to be handled through Safaricom with just a click of a button by a man called Patrick Mburu. I’m willing to share a bench with him to remind each other how things were to be done,” he added.

Junet also rejected claims that he cost Raila the presidency, saying their continued close relationship was proof of trust.

“I didn’t lose Raila the election, because if I did, we would not have remained friends. After the election, he appointed me a leader in Parliament. That is the faith and confidence he had in me even after the election."

Reflecting on his long association with the ODM leader, Junet said his political life had been inseparable from Raila’s journey.

“I was with Baba everywhere politically. I have spent my entire political life with him, having been associated with him since I was 24. He made me mayor and later an MP,” he remarked.