Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has hit back at retired President Uhuru Kenyatta over his claim that the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga won the 2022 presidential election.

Duale accused Uhuru of reopening a politically sensitive chapter of the election, warning the former president against what he described as an attempt to rewrite the history of the contest.

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Speaking in Mombasa during a community engagement with members of Cushitic communities, Duale challenged Uhuru’s assertion that Raila secured enough votes to win the presidency.

Uhuru made the remarks during a Jubilee Party meeting in Nairobi on September 22, saying he remained convinced that Raila had won the election.

“We did everything to help Baba become President of the Republic of Kenya. He got the votes, and to this day I know that he is the one who won those votes,” Uhuru said, according to reports of his remarks.

The retired president also questioned how Azimio could have won a significant number of parliamentary and county seats while losing the presidency. He, however, said he had accepted the Supreme Court’s decision and handed over power to President William Ruto.

Duale rejected Uhuru’s account and turned the spotlight on the events surrounding the 2022 election tallying.

“Uhuru Kenyatta should not go down that route,” Duale said.

He then made a series of allegations against the former president, claiming Uhuru sent officials from the National Security Advisory Council (NSAC) to the Bomas of Kenya during the presidential tallying.

“Uhuru Kenyatta is the person who sent the National Security Advisory Council, led by a man called Kihara, to Bomas of Kenya to try to interfere with the electoral process and pressure the late Wafula Chebukati to alter the will of the people of Kenya,” he said.

Duale also alleged that Uhuru used the four dissenting IEBC commissioners — Juliana Cherera, Francis Wanderi, Irene Masit and Justus Nyang’aya — to interfere with the electoral process.

He further alleged that there were attempts to have returning officers abducted to facilitate changes to the election results.

Duale’s remarks came as he declared his support for Ruto ahead of the 2027 General Election, saying former political rivals were now working together under the broad-based government.

The CS said he and others who had previously supported Raila were now backing Ruto.

“We were all, at some point, supporters of the late Prime Minister Raila Odinga. But I must admit that the party messed up when it gave people like Edwin Sifuna the position of secretary-general. That is when the party’s fortunes started to dwindle,” he said.

Duale recalled his time in ODM, saying he served in the party when Henry Kosgei was chairman, Anyang’ Nyong’o was secretary-general, Raila was party leader and Ruto was deputy party leader.

He said the political realignment since then had brought former rivals together in the broad-based government.

“But right now, supporters from the two parties are all united under the broad-based government. We will not accept any leader, whether he is in ODM or UDA, to break up our broad-based government,” he said.

“We all have one candidate, and that candidate is William Samoei Ruto.”

Duale said his support for Ruto was based on his more than two decades in politics and what he described as changes in the country’s political landscape since the 1990s.

He compared Ruto’s leadership with that of former presidents Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta, saying, "The difference between Kibaki, Uhuru and Ruto when it comes to leadership is like night and day.”

The CS also credited the Ruto administration with addressing what he described as longstanding discrimination against pastoralist and Muslim communities.

He cited the removal of vetting requirements for identification documents in parts of northern Kenya and changes at the Port of Mombasa as examples of what he said had restored the community’s dignity.

“For us pastoralists and members of the Muslim community, we have faced a lot of discrimination, including being denied ID cards, passports and other important documents,” he said.

Duale said he would use the period ahead of the 2027 election to mobilise Somali, pastoralist and Muslim communities behind what he described as a national political agenda.

“In 2027, we will end the politics of tribalism, the politics of ethnicity and the politics of marginalisation,” he said.

He maintained that Ruto had established a strong base in pastoralist- and Muslim-dominated counties and claimed the President had a substantial national electoral advantage.

Duale also said he would not seek an elective position and would instead focus his political efforts on Ruto’s re-election campaign.

“Now that I am not vying for any position and I only have one candidate, William Ruto, I will use my time, energy and resources,” he said.

Members of the Cushitic communities residing in Mombasa. /STEPHEN ASTARIKO