Newspapers, February 26: William Ruto’s Side Accuses Uhuru Kenyatta of Funding the Opposition

Newspapers on Thursday, February 26, highlighted various topics, with the politics of 2027 being given a lot of weight on the front pages.

Elsewhere, one of the newspapers reported on the dispute between President William Ruto and his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta.

1. Nation Today

The newspaper reported on the allegations leveled against former president Uhuru Kenyatta and the President’s associates William Ruto.

Starting from Declaration of Unity in 2022 until now, as the “Wantam” campaigns emerge towards the 2027 general election, the mark and influence of Uhuru is still clearly visible in Kenyan politics.

His collaboration with the former leader of ODM, Raila Odinga, as well as his influence on the leader of the Wiper Patriotic Front, Kalonzo Musyokato remain in Raila’s camp despite losing the position of co-candidate to Martha Karua, as well as rumors of his association with Linda Mwananchi’s movement, have made the next Kenyan election seem like a repeat of Uhuru and Ruto’s confrontation.

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In the 2022 election, Uhuru endorsed Raila Odinga, and now heading to 2027, political analysts say he is trying to protect his legacy against President Ruto.

The secretary general of ODM, Edwin Sifuna, who is also the leader of Linda Mwananchi, has said that he is ready to cooperate with the opposition to defeat Ruto, which has sparked rumors that Uhuru is behind the effort.

Analysts say that in Kenyan politics, conflicts often do not end with votes but change and reappear in new forms.

Almost four years after the 2022 elections, the rivalry between Uhuru and Ruto continues to affect the national debate through new political alliances, ODM internal conflicts, and the emergence of the Sifuna movement.

In 2022, Uhuru broke his 10-year alliance with Ruto by supporting Raila through Azimio.

He used political structures, Mt Kenya opinion leaders and Jubilee factions to influence voters, while Jubilee MPs were directed not to support Ruto.

However, the plan was not fully successful. Ruto got 7.1 million votes against Raila’s 6.9 million votes.

The recent tension between the Leader of the Minority in Parliament, Junet Mohamed, and Sifuna has sparked a debate about campaign financing and alleged misuse of funds claimed from Uhuru.

2. Daily Nation

The newspaper reported on the ODM party’s action against the decision of its secretary general, Edwin Sifuna, to go to court after he was removed from his post.

In documents submitted before the Political Party Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) in Nairobi, ODM explained that the move to remove Sifuna was disciplinary after several months of poor communication, missing meetings, starting opposing political plans and public statements that brought confusion.

The party claimed that Sifuna did not use internal dispute resolution mechanisms before resorting to an external body. The oath of Halima Daro, a member of ODM’s National Central Committee (NEC), said that the court has no jurisdiction as the internal procedures were not completed.

Court documents show that the conflict began in July 2025, when the ODM Central Committee met in Karen after Sifuna appeared on Citizen TV and announced that the agreement between ODM and UDA no longer exists.