Former Mukurweini MP Kabando wa Kabando has ripped into the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leadership, accusing its top brass of orchestrating a calculated smear campaign against retired President Uhuru Kenyatta to curry favor with President William Ruto.

In a blistering statement issued Monday, Kabando dismissed the emerging narrative from ODM insiders—specifically National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed—that Kenyatta sabotaged Raila Odinga’s 2022 presidential bid. Instead, Kabando termed the attacks a “dishonest ritual” meant to cleanse ODM leaders as they deepen their cooperation with the Kenya Kwanza administration ahead of the 2027 polls.

The Revisionist Trap

The controversy stems from remarks made during President Ruto’s recent tour of Nyanza, where he was hosted by Junet in Suna East for a football tournament. During the event, the narrative of “betrayal by the former regime” was subtly revived, a move Kabando argues is designed to align ODM’s base with their new broad-based government partners.

“Junet is blaming Rais Uhuru for Raila's 2022 defeat yet he knows the crooks who ate Azimio agents' money,” Kabando charged on X (formerly Twitter). He argued that the very leaders now pointing fingers were the ones who “milked Uhuru dry,” securing lucrative parliamentary committee slots while alienating the former Head of State from his own Jubilee MPs.

• The Accused: Kabando named Junet Mohamed, Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, and MPs Millie Odhiambo and Peter Kaluma as the architects of this new blame game.
• The Claim: He asserts these leaders are “sanitizing” themselves to fit into President Ruto’s political matrix.
• The Context: The attacks come as ODM solidifies its place in the 'Broad-Based Government,' a cooperation deal born from the political turbulence of 2024.

Follow the Money, Not the Rhetoric

For the average Kenyan struggling with the cost of living, this political theater offers little relief. While political elites trade accusations over an election lost three years ago, the focus shifts away from pressing governance issues. Kabando’s intervention suggests that the “betrayal” narrative is a convenient distraction from the internal failures of the Azimio coalition, specifically the mismanagement of campaign funds.

“Even in our very own Mt Kenya villages, Junet was the imported, untouchable presidential events manager,” Kabando noted, recalling the BBI era. He questioned why the same leaders who monopolized the campaign resources are now absolving themselves of blame. “Blaming Uhuru, after scapegoating Gachagua... is simply missing the salient truthful point to surrogate Ruto,” he added.

A Marriage of Convenience?

Political analysts view this spat as a symptom of the shifting tectonic plates in Kenyan politics. With ODM effectively co-habiting with the government, the party finds itself in the awkward position of needing to delegitimize its former main ally, Uhuru Kenyatta, to justify its embrace of its former arch-nemesis, William Ruto.

Kabando, known for his unvarnished commentary, warned that this strategy reeks of hypocrisy. “If they have chosen to cohabit with Ruto, who hated and ridiculed Raila, who are they to determine for others who they should associate with?” he posed. As the 2027 cycle quietly begins to turn, the revision of 2022 history appears to be the first casualty of the new political order.