Long after vacating State House, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta remains a central figure in Kenya’s political chessboard — a paradoxical presence whose formal authority has ended, yet whose political shadow continues to stretch across parties, coalitions and regions.
Nowhere is this influence more contested than within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), where internal disagreements have increasingly been interpreted through the prism of Mr Kenyatta’s perceived hand.
But even in the Rigathi Gachagua-Kalonzo Musyoka-led United Opposition, where he is fronting his former Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i, as well as within government circles, the former president’s shadow continues to loom large.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta (centre) with former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i (right) and Jeremiah Kioni during a Jubilee Party meeting in Murang’a County on November 7, 2025.
Photo credit: Martin Mwaura | Nation Media Group
Though constitutionally confined to retirement, Mr Kenyatta’s name keeps surfacing at the centre of factional wars within ODM, United Opposition and Kenya Kwanza administration, reigniting a broader debate about the role of former presidents in active politics.
Political analyst Dismas Mokua argues that Kenya’s political culture accords former presidents a unique afterlife.
While incumbents often exit office amid hostility — chants of “must go” echoing in their final days — retirement tends to rehabilitate their stature.
“Retired presidents in Kenya acquire new political capital,” Mr Mokua observes. “They command respect, attention and a kind of helicopter understanding of electoral variables, demographics and elite interests.”
From Daniel arap Moi to Mwai Kibaki, and now Uhuru Kenyatta, retirement has transformed former power brokers into kingmakers — individuals with deep networks, financial muscle and an unrivalled grasp of national political arithmetic.
This, analysts say, gives them the capacity to tilt elections, shape coalitions or destabilise parties, even without holding office.
To underestimate such influence, Mr Mokua adds, is “the highest form of political naivety”.
Mr Kenyatta’s continued relevance is rooted in both history and capability. He won two presidential elections, marshalled state machinery effectively, and built extensive political alliances across regions.
That legacy explains why nearly every serious presidential contender for 2027 is keen either to secure his blessing, neutralise his influence, or guard against his political wrath.
“There is no doubt Uhuru Kenyatta will influence the 2027 election,” Mr Mokua says. “The only question is how, and for whom.”
This reality helps explain why the former president keeps being dragged — willingly or otherwise — into current coalition intrigues.
In ODM’s case, the suspicion is that his financial clout and quiet networks are exacerbating internal divisions at a time when the party is navigating life without Raila Odinga’s unifying authority.
For decades, Odinga functioned as ODM’s ultimate arbiter — absorbing blame, suppressing dissent and settling disputes before they exploded into the open. His absence has left a vacuum that competing ambitions and ideological differences are now filling.
From left: Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Raila Odinga, and former President Uhuru Kenyatta during an Interdenominational prayer service for victims of police brutality at SKM Center in Karen on July 28, 2023.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Umoja
Disagreements that might once have been resolved behind closed doors are increasingly spilling into funerals, rallies and televised interviews.
The party is split between factions that favour cooperation with President William Ruto’s “broad-based government” and those pushing a more confrontational “Wantam” (one-term) opposition posture.
President William Ruto (right) and his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, Nairobi, on August 1, 2025.
Photo credit: PSC
ODM chairperson Gladys Wanga and National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed have publicly accused the former president of financing dissent within the party — claims that have deepened suspicion about his relationship with Secretary General Edwin Sifuna.
Party leader Dr Oburu Oginga, however, has struck a cautious and conciliatory tone.
While acknowledging ideological tensions within ODM, he insists there is no evidence that Mr Kenyatta is deliberately seeking to divide the party.
“I am not aware of any such scheme. I have no evidence to suggest that Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, my friend, wants to divide ODM,” Dr Oginga said, adding that he remains in contact with the former president and would seek clarification directly.
Former president Uhuru Kenyatta and his entourage at Kang'o Ka Jaramogi in Bondo on October 20, 2025.
Photo credit: Alex Odhiambo | Nation Media Group
His remarks reflect a leadership trying to dampen tensions while grappling with forces it may not fully control.
Some analysts believe the controversy itself may be strategic. Mr Mokua suggests that repeatedly associating Mr Kenyatta with ODM conflicts could be an attempt to provoke him into making his intentions known — forcing an early declaration that would allow politicians to recalibrate their 2027 strategies.
“His silence is making political players restless,” he notes. “Dragging his name into party disputes could be a way of flushing him out.”
Ichung’wah interview: Uhuru thought his deep pockets would alter Kenyans' decisions
Sensing opportunity, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah has waded into the ODM turmoil, framing Uhuru Kenyatta as a former president unable to transition into statesmanship.
According to Mr Ichung’wah, Mr Kenyatta remains haunted by the 2022 defeat — not just the loss itself, but the fact that President Ruto , the deputy he once tried to block, now occupies State House and is reshaping Kenya’s development agenda.
In this telling, Mr Kenyatta’s deep involvement in opposition politics is less about principle and more about unresolved bitterness.
Mr Kenyatta has firmly rejected claims that he is attempting to “buy” ODM or undermine multiparty democracy.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta, during the burial mass of the late Cyrus Jirongo at Lumakanda D.E.B. Stadium in Kakamega County, on December 30, 2025.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
Speaking at the burial of former Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo, he accused the Kenya Kwanza administration of trying to weaken political parties through elite co-optation.
“I am retired, but that does not mean you can poke me in the eye,” he said, insisting that retirement does not require political silence.
His remarks came days after ODM leaders, in rallies attended by President Ruto, accused him of holding secret meetings aimed at steering the party away from the broad-based government arrangement.
In a striking counterpoint, Senator Sifuna publicly apologised to Mr Kenyatta on behalf of ODM — a move that only deepened internal suspicion and reinforced perceptions of rival camps within the party.
At the heart of the dispute is money — who controls it, who deploys it, and to what end.
Dissenting voices within ODM
Insiders warn that reopening questions about Raila’s 20220 campaign financing and agents’ deployment risks delegitimising ODM’s internal processes at a delicate moment in its evolution without the late opposition chief.
Analysts say that it also complicates Mr Kenyatta’s legacy. Once seen as a crucial coalition-builder and financier, he now risks being recast as a destabilising force — an asset turning into a liability.
Political commentator Onyango Okello Oloo dismisses attempts to blame the former president for ODM’s 2022 election loss as “shortsighted”.
“Uhuru lost his own community by supporting Raila,” he argues. “A sitting president sacrificed his political base for a principle. That alone shows his support was genuine.”
Still, dissenting voices within ODM and government circles are growing louder.
Speaking in Homa Bay last year, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, a former ODM Chairman warned both President Ruto and Raila against granting Mr Kenyatta political audience, accusing him of misleading the opposition in 2022.
“He promised us the presidency when he had the instruments of power, but handed it to Ruto right before our eyes,” Mr Mbadi claimed.
His remarks echo a broader narrative within parts of Nyanza that views alliances with Central Kenya elites as historically transactional and unreliable — a sentiment that is now fuelling support for the Ruto-led broad-based government.
Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has gone further, openly declaring ODM’s intention to support President Ruto’s re-election.
“We are working with President Ruto now and into the future until we ensure he wins a second term,” he said.
Such statements underscore the scale of ODM’s internal ideological split — and why Mr Kenyatta’s perceived alignment matters so deeply.
“Some people ate Uhuru’s money. I know, in my position as Secretary General, a lot of money we used for 2022 campaign came from Uhuru Kenyatta. He supported us in word and deed. But the problem was that there was one person who know sees a problem with Uhuru’s money. I want to ask you, Junet Mohamed: When did Uhuru’s money become bad?”
Minority Whip Junet Mohamed addresses journalists during a past function.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
But Mr Mohamed responded with an unusually detailed and defiant statement, shifting the spotlight squarely onto Mr Kenyatta and his inner circle.
According to Mr Mohamed, the funds meant for election agents were released by Mr Kenyatta but placed under the control of his close associates to oversee recruitment and payment of agents.
Mr Mohamed alleges that the arrangement effectively sidelined ODM’s campaign structures, leaving Raila without agents in key regions, including Mt Kenya and even his traditional strongholds.
He describes the operation as opaque and tightly controlled, run from a restricted Westlands office that even Raila could not freely access.
“These are facts, not conjecture,” insists Mr Mohamed, challenging Mr Kenyatta and his associates to publicly deny his claims.
Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta State House spokesperson Kanze Dena.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
When contacted for comment, Mr Kenyatta’s spokesperson, Ms Kanze Dena-Mararo, declined to respond, saying the former president had “no comment” on the matter.
In the United Opposition, there are also fears that Mr Kenyatta’s support for Dr Matiang’i could divide the opposition outfit especially if he insists the ex-CS goes up to the ballot, at a time when Mr Gachagua’s camp view Mr Musyoka as the opposition’s best bet to take on President Ruto in next year’s election.
Embakasi North MP James Gakuya, an ally of Mr Gachagua on Saturday publicly expressed fears that Dr Matiang’i could be planning to go it alone in the coming election.
Speaking at the funeral of his late mother Alice Wangari Gakuya in Murang’a County, Mr Gakuya expressed his fears to Jubilee Chairperson Torome Saitoti, who has however, maintained that the party was right inside the United Opposition.
“Mr Torome, go and tell Matiang’i that we are afraid he is showing signs of going it alone. Tell him he will get nowhere,” Mr Gakuya said.
