Biggest Mistake That Saw Raila Lose To Ruto- Insider

Maalim, the elected Member of Parliament for the Daadab constituency, had criticized the coalition for failing to invest in the Mount Kenya and Rift Valley regions

Marvin Chege Marvin Chege
Aug 24, 2022 - 08:34 Updated: Aug 24, 2022 - 08:34
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Biggest Mistake That Saw Raila Lose To Ruto- Insider
Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto. /VIRALTEAKE

Wiper deputy party leader, Farah Maalim, has disclosed that the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition had failed to invest in agents at the strongholds of their opponents, Kenya Kwanza, during the elections period.

Speaking during a Citizen TV interview on Wednesday, August 24, Maalim, the elected Member of Parliament for the Daadab constituency, had criticized the coalition for failing to invest in the Mount Kenya and Rift Valley regions where the opposing team led by the president-elect, William Ruto, dominated.

He added that the failure of Azimio to guard their votes had exposed it to cheeky tactics which birthed the alleged vote rigging claims being one of the main points of contention in a petition filed at the Supreme Court by the leader, Raila Odinga, challenging the results.

Farah Maalim talking on his phone. /KBC DIGITAL

"We as Azimio did such a huge mistake of not having agents in two very big areas where our opposition was maximum that was in Rift Valley and in the mountain region. Somebody seriously slept on the job and that is the area where we would have invested in very well," he said.

"We have been rigged out of this election...I believe Raila won but we also failed as a coalition in protecting our votes in those two places. And that gave an opportunity for people to do the monkey business they did."

Maalim commended the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for its professionalism in conducting the polls that were credible, free and fair, calling the 2022 polls the 'best Kenya has ever had'.

He added that the riggings that were prevalent in the 2007-2017 elections were a thing of the past following the introduction of the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS).

"I rate them very well for all the other elections except for the presidential. This is the best we have ever had and that gives me a lot of hope for the future because we are increasingly coming out of the woods," he said.

"We had a multiparty system in the country but that is what is just in paper but the kinds of riggings that were done in the last three elections from 2007 to 2017 were preposterous. But now you can see everything is verifiable with the introduction of the KIEMS kits," he added. 

In a previous interview, he alleged that top politicians had opted to join Raila on the national campaigns instead of spreading to the grassroots level to get support for the Azimio leaders, an issue he raised which was ignored.

"I said, don't just keep on moving around with Kalonzo, Raila and Martha, these political bigwigs. Go to your own backyards and deliver votes.

"I do not think that happened because they wanted that security for themselves so that they can secure their election. This cost us and there is no question about it," he said.

According to him, the politicians would have helped the Azimio leader popularise his agenda at that level and guaranteed him a landslide victory over Ruto.

Raila Odinga presents his petition documents at Milimani Law Courts. /TWITTER

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