Die hard traitor: Why Junet is fighting Judas Iscariot label

National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed is known for his headline-making traits and whenever he gets the mic, he always delivers, even in the most comical or absurd ways.

But it is the matter of ODM party agents during the 2022 General Election that has returned to haunt him and, despite trying to settle the matter, he possibly opened old wounds.

As he responded to ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna over the issue, Junet introduced a twist to the saga, shifting blame to former President Uhuru Kenyatta, his brother Muhoho, and one Peter Mburu.

“The answer is simple, clear and verifiable: former President Uhuru Kenyatta released the funds meant for election agents to his blood brother, Muhoho Kenyatta, who then appointed one Mr Patrick Mburu to take charge of the recruitment and payment of agents,” he claimed.

Junet also said in a statement that Mburu presented himself as an IT expert, claiming he had the capacity to detect and prevent any manipulation of results by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

He said around that time, Muhoho operated from an office in Westlands that was so restricted that even Raila could not access it freely.

“It is from this office—out of bounds for nearly all of us—that they claimed to handle the agents’ payments and other logistics. These are facts, not conjecture. I challenge Uhuru Kenyatta and Muhoho Kenyatta to publicly deny these facts,” Junet said.

“The fact is once they took charge, they never procured any agents for Raila, not in Mt Kenya and in Luo Nyanza. It was a long con game. Let the record also be set straight: Raila would have had no reason whatsoever to appoint me—Junet Mohamed—as the Leader of Minority in the National Assembly if I had truly betrayed him.”

But Raila’s former chief agent, Saitabao ole Kanchory, has come out guns blazing, giving his side of the story as he lashed out at Junet for “opening a can of worms you know very well will eat you up alive”.

On Monday, Kanchory, in a series of posts on X, gave different scenarios, even quoting excerpts of his book, as he called out the Minority Leader.

“The moral of the story for Junet is that those who have decided to take the easy road of corruption, self-interest, betrayal and decadence must respect those of us who have chosen the high road of integrity over interests and country over self,” he wrote.

“This is not easy to do in this day and age, especially in a country led by such wretched people and principles. Kama umeamua kukula basi (if you have decided to eat), observe table manners… wacha nimuachilie rafiki yangu Junet kidogo apumue. Akitubu tutamsamehe (let me allow my friend Junet to breathe; if he confesses, we will forgive him),” he added.

In one of his posts, Kanchory made reference to a June 24, 2022 meeting, saying Junet had given instructions that he should not be allowed into a crucial Azimio meeting held at the KICC.

According to Kanchory, this was because Junet was afraid he (Kanchory) would contradict and possibly expose him in front of Raila and Uhuru.

“So I decided to storm the press conference held soon after the meeting and took Baba hostage, insisting that I needed to sit down with him for a few minutes. Junet, who had begun to walk away after the media briefing, quickly came back to manage Mzee.

“If you listen carefully, you’ll hear Baba asking me, ‘Saitabao, where were you?’ because he expected me to be present at the meeting, a dossier—which you can see me holding—concerning the tribal and partisan plot Chebukati and Junet's kinsmen at IEBC had put in place in favour of UDA and William Ruto,” he claimed, attaching a video.

According to him, he was later able to brief Raila comprehensively over breakfast with lawyer Paul Mwangi, but Junet quickly rubbished his findings “obtained from very trusted and reliable sources inside IEBC”.

Despite the overwhelming and damning evidence he had presented, Kanchory said Junet repeatedly told Raila not to worry about IEBC.

Junet told Raila not to worry about IEBC, something he maintained until his mission was accomplished, after which he disappeared for a few weeks and only resurfaced to continue his brokering business.

But speaking separately, Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi said that in the debate on roles different people played in the last elections and who was responsible for Raila not winning, everyone appears to be laying the blame on Junet.

“They are saying Junet was supposed to be mobilising the agents, drawing strategy for winning, announcing Raila and all, so I am asking those who were involved in Raila’s campaign, what were their other responsibilities? Because all the blame is now being put on the head of one person, Junet. Were they waiting for Junet to deliver and take positions because everyone has run away? The issue that Junet bungled the election is neither here nor there,” said Atandi.

Atandi said the diversionary tactics of placing all the blame on Junet as if he was appointed the ‘messiah’ to deliver Raila’s presidency should come to an end, saying some MPs have not been happy with the Minority Leader because of his proximity to Raila, who is now no longer there to speak on the matter.

In a press conference held at Parliament Buildings by a section of MPs, led by ODM Vice Chairman Otiende Amollo, they declined to delve into the matter, saying they are not dealing with ‘history’.

Amollo said they want the party leader, Oburu Odinga, to rein in and call a meeting to discuss, not so much the history, but party cohesion moving forward into 2027.

“You realise no one has spoken on that subject, so it would be unfair to ask us about it. All we are saying is that we need that internal spitting session, not so much to look into the history or as a blame game, but to strengthen us as a party moving forward,” said Amollo.

Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo said: “There are those who will point fingers and that is not the issue. The issue is to look at our challenges that are self-inflicted, and we must come as a party and look inward and solve our issues through an internal spitting session if need be. It is unfortunate it is coming after Raila died—can we at least honour him?”

Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’ also said that in his lifetime, Raila held Uhuru in high regard and this respect did not change even after the 2022 electoral ‘defeat’.

“We cannot rewrite the narrative just because Baba is no longer with us. The 2022 election is water under the bridge and should not be used to cause confusion within ODM. We must deliver our people to the proverbial Canaan. ODM must embrace all progressive parties committed to this goal,” he said in a social media post.

Presidential politics analyst Dismas Mokua told The Standard that the Junet–Sifuna altercation offers key insights into resource mobilisation and utilisation around presidential campaigns.

“There are two parties in the conversation around the use or misuse of agents’ payments or failure to retain and pay agents. The sad reality is that one of them is lying to the nation. This is unacceptable because both are elected leaders who have taken the oath of office and whose conduct should align with the Constitution,” Mokua said.

Similarly, he said the issue is a useful step in introducing transparency and accountability in campaign financial management, adding that Kenyans should encourage politicians who had leadership roles in presidential campaigns to spill the beans as a strategy for instilling transparency and accountability in electoral resource management.

“The head of the 2022 Raila campaign must, out of fidelity to Kenyans and in the interest of transparency, make public accounts around the presidential campaign resource mobilisation and utilisation. These statements, which should be subjected to an independent audit, will not only clear the air around agents’ management but also offer insights into Raila’s donor matrix,” he stated.

He advised on the need to invite independent auditors to review campaign resource mobilisation and utilisation, with specific interest in agents’ management, as a confidence-building measure, besides securing Raila’s reputation.