In a dramatic turn of events, firebrand lawyer Miguna Miguna endorsed Deputy President William Ruto to be the 5th President of Kenya.
Miguna made the surprise announcement on Look-Up TV Politics and Power Show interview with host Eugene Anangwe. He predicted Ruto would defeat the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga by a landslide.
“There are SONU friends who are being sent to you to actually endorse Raila Odinga,” Anangwe asked. “Who are these people, and of what significance would your endorsement of Raila Odinga would probably have?”
“Well, today on national TV, I’m saying I 100 percent endorse William Ruto. And I’m asking all Kenyans to vote for him so that we can put an end to this cycle of dynastic tyranny,” — Lawyer Miguna Miguna
Speaking in his usual bombastic style, Miguna did not disappoint. He said Azimio la Umoja sent a friend of his back from his college days, but the person was not convincing, leading him to go the other way.
“What they were saying is even if I’m not supporting Rail Odinga, I should not endorse William Ruto. “Well, today on national TV, I’m saying I 100 percent endorse William Ruto. And I’m asking all Kenyans to vote for him so that we can put an end to this cycle of dynastic tyranny.”
The firebrand lawyer said Odinga is suffering from Stockholm syndrome has joined in an alliance with President Uhuru Kenyatta– his oppressor– hoping that Kenyatta would marshall state machinery to help him win the elections.
“He wants now to be the beneficiary of the same injustice he suffered,” Miguna said. “But Raila forgets that in 2002, [President Mwai] Kibaki did not steal elections. Kenyans voted for Kibaki to a person and defeated the [President Daniel Arap] Moi project, who was Uhuru Kenyatta. The same way they’re going to defeat Uhuru and Raila in this project.”
Miguna did not, however, address the fact that Odinga’s loss to Kibaki in 2007 leading to the post-election violence was a result of allegations that Kibaki used government machinery to retain the presidency when he had in fact lost to Odinga. His argument is further undermined because of the extraordinary step he took to swear in Odinga as the Peoples President in 2017. In both instances, Miguna and other opposition supporters claimed the election was rigged against Odinga.
Miguna alleged Kenyatta had sinister motives in supporting Odinga and that he’s not ready to retire and is planning to rule Kenya by proxy through Odinga.
To achieve this goal, Miguna said, Kenyatta, is fronting Odinga, who, once elected, would revive the BBI plan, which would change the constitution allowing Kenyatta to return. He likened the plan as similar to how President Vladimir Putin manipulated Russia, by allowing Dmitry Medvedev to be president for one term as Putin became Prime Minister, only to return after one term and be president again.
Miguna alleged Odinga and some ODM members wanted him to be killed when he was abducted by Kenyan security forces, while Odinga pretended to be working on getting him to be released.
He admitted that his support for Ruto was also personal because the DP is the only one who has said he’d allow him to return to Kenya.
The endorsement comes as a shock because Miguna, a Canada-based Kenyan lawyer, is on record for some of the most vicious attacks against Ruto. It could also be viewed as a way Miguna settling personal scores against Odinga.
See the whole show below.
