President William Ruto has requested that opposition leader Raila Odinga of the Azimio Party, who was formerly a close ally but has now become a rival, reciprocate the support that he received in 2007 by endorsing Ruto's re-election campaign for 2027.
On the second day of his four-day tour of the Luo-Nyanza region in the southwest part of Kenya, Ruto asserted that Odinga is obligated to support him politically due to his role in the former prime minister's appointment.
"I was Raila's supporter. For him to be today referred to as former the prime minister, I am the one who helped put him in office," he said in an address to Homa Bay County residents.
President Ruto expressed confidence in his incumbency, saying that there would be no significant challengers to his position, and asked Odinga to exhibit gentlemanly conduct by returning the favor.
"I voted for 'Agwambo' [Raila Odinga] and he has never voted for me. I will now wait for his vote in the 2027 General Elections because if he's not running, I will be running alongside Kalonzo Musyoka, and he [Odinga] should give me his vote," Ruto stated.
Recalling that he did not receive votes from Homa Bay County, he reiterated his call for national unity, urging residents to look beyond political differences for the sake of "the entire nation."
In 2007, Ruto was a member of a political coalition within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party, which played a crucial role in endorsing Odinga's presidential campaign.
However, his second attempt at the presidency after 1997 was unsuccessful as the Electoral Commission announced Mwai Kibaki as the winner on December 30, 2007, with a margin of approximately 232,000 votes over Odinga. Subsequently, the country was plunged into violence. After two months of unrest, Odinga and Kibaki reached an agreement in February 2008 that included power-sharing and the establishment of the position of prime minister. Odinga was inaugurated as PM on April 17, and held this position until 2013.
Although Odinga has run for president five times, including the most recent presidential election in 2022 when he narrowly lost to President Ruto, he has not officially announced when he intends to retire from politics. Ruto was declared president on August 15, 2022, six days after the general election. He defeated Odinga by 50.49% to 48.85%. The opposition leader refused to recognize the results and has led demonstrations since March against what he called a "rigged" election.
After losing the election, he petitioned against President-elect William Ruto at the Supreme Court of Kenya. The court ruled against him, and Odinga promised to respect the decision.