Raila Withdraws from Tuesday’s Presidential Debate

Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya coalition party presidential candidate Raila Odinga has withdrawn from the much-awaited presidential debate slated for July 26th.

Odinga’s presidential campaign secretariat spokesperson Prof. Makau Mutua said the ODM leader is not ready to share a national podium with his main competitor Deputy President William Ruto, who he said lacks “basic decency”.

Mutua further described Ruto, who is eyeing the presidency on a UDA party ticket, as “a man who has no regards for ethics, public morals or shame” and who will “do and say anything” to seek power.

“Our main opponent has proven over the course of his career that he will do and say anything in his ungovernable greed of power. Today, as his campaign fails and supporters abandon him, he has become desperate,” Prof. Mutua said in a statement on Sunday.

“He is a man who has no regard for ethics, public morals, or shame. That is why he has demanded that the debate not focus on corruption, integrity, ethics, and governance—the key existential questions that Kenya faces. These issues sit at the core of the Azimio campaign.”

Mutua pointed out that any debate devoid of the above-mentioned questions would be an insult to the intelligence of Kenyans.

“That is why we do not intend to share a national podium with a person who lacks basic decency…It would be a colossal mistake to reward such a person with a national debate,” he added.

The secretariat noted that instead of a traditional debate, Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua will hold a televised town hall at Jericho Social Hall in Nairobi’s Eastlands where ordinary Kenyans will be given a chance to offer solutions to the challenges facing the country and common people.

“Our flag bearer Raila Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua will openly answer questions put to them by the people of Kenya, honestly and free from what would otherwise be nothing more than empty self-serving political theater,” the campaign stated.