Raila lost because Uhuru wanted to hand over power to Ruto - Ngunyi

Political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi now says former President Uhuru Kenyatta planned to have President William Ruto succeed him, and not ODM leader Raila Odinga.

While weighing in on the #WhyRailaLost, a hashtag that trended on Kenyan Twitter on Wednesday, Ngunyi said Uhuru kept the succession promise.

"For the Nth time, Uhuru wanted to hand over to Ruto. And that is #WhyRailaLost. He made peace with the Odinga dynasty and kept the Kumi-Kumi promise. He won on two fronts," he said.

His remarks came after a section of leaders from Azimio got into a blame game on why the opposition leader lost the August 9 presidential elections.

At the centre of focus is the payment of agents and coordination of crucial campaign activities.

Suna East MP Junet Mohammed and Azimio la Umoja spokesperson Makau Mutua were among those blamed for being "highly" responsible for the loss.

“We went wrong the minute we dismantled the structures we had, the campaign board was supposed to run everything but some individuals who wanted to have their agenda individualised it," former Raila's chief agent Saitabao Kanchory said in an interview with NTV.

Jubilee Party Sec Gen Jeremiah Kioni blamed the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, saying they mismanaged the tallying.

He said they have received reports from other agents of other parties that a station in Karatina was rigged, openly.

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino however defended Junet saying he could not forgo his dream in Raila's government by using the money meant for agents.

Owino blamed Uhuru for the loss, questioning why he and Ruto fell apart after working together for a long time.

"Mimi story ya Uhuru when it comes to this election sitaki hata kusikia. (I don't want to hear about Uhuru when it comes to this election). Let him have his relationship with Baba (Raila)," Babu said.

"Why would Uhuru and Ruto fight if in 2002 Ruto stood with Uhuru against all odds? In 2013 and in 2017, Ruto stood with Uhuru and they also went to ICC together. What is it that went wrong between the two? Nothing."