Confusion mars Roots Party as Justina Wamae says Prof. Wajackoyah is supporting Raila's presidential bid

Justina Wamae: It is true the allegations that my principal and party leader is supporting Azimio. We have not discussed that as a party, we have not agreed, and neither have I been consulted...

Michael Majanga for Tv47 Digital August 03, 2022, 06:41 PM

Wajackoyah, Wamae clash over who to support — Roots Party presidential candidate Prof. George Wajackoyah (left) and his running mate Justina Wamae.

In Summary

Kenyans go to the polls on August 9 to chose a new crop of leaders -from president to Members of the County Assembly.

But few days to the polls, confusion has marred Roots Party after allegations that presidential candidate Prof. George Wajackoyah has endorses Azimio La Umoja's Raila Odinga.

With only five days to the August 9, 2022 General Election, confusion has marred the Roots Party camp after claims that its presidential candidate, Prof. George Wajackoyah, had shelved his ambitions.

Many Kenyans had interpreted a viral video of Prof. Wajackoyah campaigning in Kisumu heaping praise on Raila Odinga to mean that he had dropped out of the race and endorsed the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition presidential candidate.

But in a statement on Wednesday morning, the Roots Party clarified that the clip was misinterpreted and doctored by Prof. Wajackoyah's competitors to suit their agenda.

“We would like to categorically state that we have a presidential candidate who is on the Ballot and will win this Election,” the statement reads in part.

“We have not and will not endorse any other candidate. The notion that Prof Wajackoya has endorsed Raila Odinga is a hopeless imagination and a wishful thinking that only exists in the minds of a biased media.

Justina Wamae's take

But a few hours after the clarification, Prof. Wajackoyah's running mate, Justina Wamae, threw the saga into further confusion.

According to Wamae, the allegations that Prof. Wajackoyah is supporting Raila are true, but she is yet to be consulted.

"It is true the allegations that my principal and party leader is supporting Azimio. We have not discussed that as a party, we have not agreed, and neither have I been consulted," she told journalists.

She now says that if push comes to shove and the Roots Party drops out of the presidential race, "I will support the contrary."

"But let me say this, if push comes to shove and we need to take a stand on who to support out of the other three presidential candidates, I will support the contrary. But as I speak, we have not agreed as a party and we are still focusing on pushing our agenda as Roots Party and popularising our manifesto."

It remains to be seen how this saga will end.