ODM leader Raila Odinga has revealed he regrets denying Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi chance to contest for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat in 2022 elections.
The ODM boss, for the first time, admitted it was a blunder to let Jubilee’s Polycarp Igathe fly the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition gubernatorial flag.
He said he personally regrets for asking Wanyonyi to step down in favour of Uhuru Kenyatta’s choice of Igathe.
“I personally regret because I was the one who was told to ask Tim (Wanyonyi) to drop his bid for governor,” Mr Odinga said.
He said that had Wanyonyi been the candidate, Azimio would have easily won the City Hal seat as he had strong support across the city.
“If we won the seats of Senate, Woman Rep, majority MCAs and MPs, how then would we have failed the governor’s seat,” he posed.
Mr Odinga was speaking on Wednesday, November 15 in Westlands when he met a group of church leaders at a meeting graced by Wanyonyi, Senator Edwin Sifuna, Woman Rep Esther Passaris, Dagoretti North MP Beatrice Elachi and former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya among other leaders.
He was reacting after speakers asked him not to repeat what happened in 2022 and allow Wanyonyi to run for Nairobi governor.
At the same time, he narrated that Wanyonyi was a dependable leader who even after having his bid stopped, was gracious to accept to defend his Westlands seat.
Mr Odinga has previously endorsed Wanyonyi’s bid for City Hall and he reiterated the same position for the 2027 race.
However, he lashed out at some party elected leaders who are already campaigning for bigger seats even before proving what they can do in their current positions.
He said he was surprised with an MCA in Nyanza who is already salivating for an MP’s seat yet he has not done any tangible project in his ward.
In another incident, he said he was surprised with an MP seeking to be elected as governor yet as MP, he has not spoken on the floor of the house.
To him, it is too early for such people to start campaigning and should wait until around 2026 for them to start campaigns.
