Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has said he still believes the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga won the 2022 presidential election, more than four years after William Ruto was declared the winner. Speaking during a Jubilee Party National Executive Council meeting in Nairobi on Tuesday, September 22, Uhuru defended his administration’s support for Odinga’s presidential campaign and said the former Prime Minister had received enough votes to win the contest.

“We did everything we could to help Raila Odinga become President of Kenya, and he was given the votes. Even today, I know that Baba won that election,” Uhuru said.

Uhuru also said those involved in the election knew how events unfolded and expressed concern about a repeat of what he described as the events surrounding the 2022 contest.

“We know how things went down, and we don’t want that to happen again,” he said.

Uhuru’s statement is a political claim and differs from the official outcome of the August 9, 2022 presidential election. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) declared William Ruto the winner after he secured 7,176,141 votes (50.49%), against Odinga’s 6,942,930 votes (48.85%). Odinga and other petitioners challenged the results before the Supreme Court. On September 5, 2022, the court unanimously dismissed the presidential election petitions and upheld Ruto’s election. The Supreme Court’s judgment records that Ruto had been declared president-elect with 7,176,141 votes, while Odinga was the runner-up with 6,942,930 votes. Uhuru did not present new vote-counting evidence during Tuesday’s remarks to support his assertion that Odinga won.

The former President also questioned how the political coalition backing Odinga could have secured a significant number of parliamentary and county seats while losing the presidency.

“How can you say you won yet we have most Members of Parliament, Senators, and Governors? How could you say we lost? We know how things went down,” Uhuru said.

The 2022 election was contested between Ruto, then the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate, and Odinga, who ran on the Azimio la Umoja–One Kenya Coalition Party ticket. Uhuru, who was President at the time, had backed Odinga after the two established a political partnership following their 2018 “handshake.” His latest remarks come as Jubilee and other political parties reorganise ahead of the 2027 General Election, bringing renewed attention to the alliances and disputes that shaped the 2022 campaign. While Uhuru maintains that Odinga won the election, the official electoral record remains that Ruto was declared the winner, and the Supreme Court upheld that result.