Makau Mutua fires back at Dennis Onyango over claims he cost Raila 2022 presidency
By Mustafa Juma, June 8, 2026Constitutional law scholar Makau Mutua has strongly responded to claims made by Dennis Onyango, a close aide of the late Raila Odinga, who claimed that Mutua played a role in mismanaging Raila’s 2022 presidential campaign and contributed to his electoral defeat.
Onyango had accused Mutua, who served as the spokesperson of the Raila Odinga 2022 presidential campaign team, of taking an outsized role in the campaign structure, claiming he sidelined key strategists and disrupted coordination within Raila’s political team during the tightly contested election.
In his response, Makau Mutua dismissed the allegations, questioning the logic behind the claims and defending his involvement in the campaign.
“My good friend Dennis Onyango says I ‘hijacked’ Raila Odinga’s 2022 presidential campaign and lost him the election. Of all the key players that I, a simple law professor, was the cause for the loss,” Mutua said in a statement shared via his official X account on Monday, June 8, 2026.
He further appeared to downplay the accusations, suggesting that Onyango was reacting emotionally to his personal relationship with Raila Odinga.
“He’s unhappy I would have drinks with Mr Odinga! Sounds like a woman scorned!” he added.
Dennis Onyango’s claims
Onyango claimed that Mutua played a central role in mismanaging Raila’s 2022 presidential campaign, which ultimately contributed to his defeat.
Speaking in a televised interview on the night of Sunday, June 7, 2026, Onyango accused Mutua of taking control of Raila’s campaign structure in a manner he believes undermined coordination and sidelined key strategists who had long been part of the ODM and Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya political machinery.
“One person I won’t forgive is Makau Mutua. I don’t think he added any value to Raila’s campaign, and to the very last minute, up to today, I still believe he derailed us,” Onyango said.
He further claimed that Mutua’s influence over the campaign created internal friction by excluding other key players and blurring the line between personal relationships and professional campaign management.
“He took over a person he did not understand and edged everybody out,” he claimed.
Onyango argued that effective political campaigns require clear separation between personal friendships and strategic decision-making, suggesting that this was not adequately observed during the 2022 presidential race.
“You can’t be a candidate’s person and also remain his drinking buddy. You can’t run a campaign that way. A campaign must be separated from personal friendship,” he added.