Raila pulled the plug and vanished – Wamalwa speaks on Azimio’s last days
Eugene Wamalwa, the captain of the Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) ship, has painted a dramatic picture of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition’s final act: a silent vanishing trick orchestrated by none other than its once-unifying figure, Raila Odinga.
Like a magician slipping out of chains, Wamalwa claims Raila pulled the plug on the opposition alliance without so much as a farewell wave, leaving the remaining political players standing in the spotlight, utterly perplexed.
Wamalwa recounted the tale of Azimio’s quiet demise while speaking during a TV interview on Monday morning, April 14, 2025.
The pivotal moment, according to him, wasn’t a fiery clash or a dramatic walkout but rather a gradual warming of relations between Raila and President William Ruto – a political thaw that began when Baba stepped in to seemingly steady Ruto’s ship during the turbulent anti-government demonstrations last year.
Raila saved Ruto’s government from imminent collapse at the height of the Gen Z demonstrations in June 2024 – a fact that Ruto has repeatedly acknowledged as recently as Saturday, April 12, 2025.
Speaking in Siaya County during the burial of Raila’s aide George Oduor, Ruto lauded Raila for his selflessness in helping lead the country out of a precipice threatened by the young population.
“Allow me to use this occasion to thank my elder brother, Raila Odinga. I have come a very long way with Raila. I want to say I did not know that the man I stood by and gave my all at a moment in my life would eventually become a competitor and he would eventually come and anchor my leadership. So to hon PM, I want to tell you that just the same way I stood with you when you needed a man to stand with you, you have equally come to stand with me when I needed a man to stand with. I am truly grateful. When Baba came to stand with me, it was not about him or his interests; it was about the greater interest of Kenya. History is going to judge Raila fairly. Raila, I’m very proud that our paths crossed and we have come this journey together,” Ruto said.
Reflecting on the events in Siaya, Wamalwa noted that Raila’s decision to save Ruto was among the contentious issues that led to the split of Azimio.
The DAP-K leader questioned if Raila’s intervention meant they [Azimio] were saving Ruto or saving Kenya.
“I listened to Oburu speak and then I listened to Ruto speak and they said they made a decision to join Ruto and join his government. And Ruto said ‘thanks guys, you saved me.’ Now the issue is, do we okoa Zakayo or do we okoa Kenya? Now this is where the split has come,” Wamalwa said.
Wamalwa noted that Azimio collapsed last year when four ODM members joined Ruto’s cabinet immediately after the Gen Z demos subsided and that the coalition actually died this year when Raila signed an MoU with Ruto.
“That was the day that Azimio died [the day that MoU between ODM and UDA was signed]. Before, they were denying that they had joined government – our colleagues – but we knew they had. They said ‘we have only donated the four experts’. You know, when they donated the experts, hapo Azimio ikazimia, but the day Raila himself came before the nation and signed a post-election pact with Ruto, that’s the day Azimio died. He signed the death certificate of Azimio,” Wamalwa said.
Raila, on March 7, 2025, signed an MoU with President William Ruto, sparking speculation about a new political realignment.
The agreement, Raila insisted, is not a coalition deal but rather a framework for collaboration on national unity and governance issues.
Speaking on the way forward, Wamalwa assured Kenyans that Azimio’s death would certainly pave the way for a new, better coalition.
“I listened to them in Siaya and I realized now they’ve agreed to officially join Ruto and work with Ruto. And not just now – I even heard them talk about 2027. So today, as we speak, we want to tell Kenyans: yes, Azimio is dead, but sometimes, my late brother Mike [Michael Kijana Wamalwa] used to say, sometimes a good idea gives way to a better idea. Azimio was a good coalition, but I want to tell Kenyans not to lose hope – [it] is giving way to a better coalition. We are assembling a better coalition that will send Zakayo home,” Wamalwa said.
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Martin Oduor
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