Raila Odinga, the former prime minister, has responded to allegations that the government spent billions on his ambitions to become the chair of the African Union Commission (AUC).
On Tuesday, February 24, after losing the election, the former prime minister made his first public appearance by accompanying President William Ruto to an address at State House Mombasa. It was a celebration of his return home following months of campaigning abroad.
For the first time, Raila addressed the defeat and denied that the government had spent Ksh13 billion on his campaigning before the AUC elections.
“I’ve heard someone discuss the Ksh13 billion spent on the campaign. He remarked, “I’m not sure what world these people are from or if they understand what a billion dollars is.”
The former prime minister went on to explain that the government’s only role was to arrange transportation to and from the nations he visited.
Nothing is more untrue than the fact that no such sum was really spent. Only transportation to and from the nations we visited was provided by the government; nevertheless, several nations were kind enough to host us.
Juja Member of Parliament George Koimburi made the astounding Ksh13 billion allegations public, but he has now been subject to legal reversals for them.
After being questioned by investigators from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) last Tuesday, the MP was released on Ksh200,000 cash bail after being charged with six counts of forgery and uttering fraudulent documents.
Raila also used the occasion in Mombasa to express gratitude to President William Ruto and other lawmakers for the overwhelming amount of support he had gotten before to the polls, saying:
Raila remarked, “Now I’m delighted to be back home,” “Returning to Kenya makes me very happy and delighted. I would want to express my gratitude to all of the Kenyans who joined us on this voyage, including the president, the deputy, the ministers, and other leaders.
In the midst of uncertainty surrounding his future political move, Raila also pledged to provide his roadmap shortly after speaking with allies and other important stakeholders.
Raila received 22 votes to Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf’s 26 votes, eliminating him in the sixth round of voting, even though he had led the first round with 20 votes.
After reaching the necessary two-thirds majority with 33 votes, Youssouf defeated Raila in the ensuing seventh round, guaranteeing the chairmanship for the ensuing four years.
