Nyandarua Senator John Methu has torn into Raila Odinga’s defeat in his bid for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship, calling it a glaring omen of William Ruto’s inevitable downfall in the 2027 elections.

Speaking in Meru on Sunday, February 23, 2025, Methu, who had joined former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for a church service in the county, said Kenyans should not shy away from laughing at Raila Odinga, reminding them that Raila and Ruto’s allies had also mocked them when they kicked Gachagua out of office.

“Na mtu yeyote ambaye anashikana na William Ruto akianguka, ni jukumu letu kama Wakenya kumchekelea. Kwa sababu inatuonyesha kuwa William Ruto pia hapo mbele ataanguka,” Methu said.

Methu went on to recall how some members of parliament had previously warned him when he predicted Raila Odinga would lose the AUC seat, stating that those same MPs would now have to endure their ridicule because they were not about to let them off the hook.

He said Raila had walked into the AUC bid with his head held high, unconcerned that he had left the country bedridden with serious issues like the failed SHA, and declared that he was actually happy Raila had lost so he could stay in Kenya and feel the full weight of the country’s problems with the rest of Kenyans.

“Iko watu wengine walikuwa wanatuambia tukiwa bunge ati tulifanya makosa kwa sababu Raila Odinga alisimama kiti ya AUC sisi tukacheka. Sawa, watatusamehea. Wao wakati wa kufukuza Rigathi Gachagua walicheka. Sasa tutacheka. Huyu Raila Odinga anataka kwenda AUC akiacha Kenya ikichomeka, anaenda kufanya nini? Wabunge wake ndio wanamsaidia Ruto kutukandamiza. Ni kweli ama si kweli? SHA isipofanya kazi, anakaa hapa na sisi.”

Bishop Muheria’s remarks

Methu, who pointed out that he had noticed his growing popularity among Meru’s young people, then turned his focus on Ruto, calling him out for attacking Archbishop Anthony Muheria after the clergyman criticised the government for being nothing more than a public relations agency.

He said the archbishop was absolutely right because the government was spending more time overhyping its so-called plans instead of actually implementing them.

Apologising on behalf of the clergy for the insults Ruto had hurled at them, he issued a warning—if Ruto had truly done enough development projects, he would not need to over-advertise himself for people to see his work.

To drive his point home, he pointed at a tent next to him and gave an analogy, saying there was no way he could claim there was a tent if people were standing right there and seeing that there was not one.

“Archbishop Muheria ameenda akaeleza William Ruto—kama unafanya kazi, hapana haja ya kuambia watu umefanya. Kama umefanya, itaonekana imefanyika. Nikisema hapa kuna hema, si pia nyinyi mnaona hapa kuna hema? Sasa akishinda kuzunguka akisema, ‘Mimi kama William Ruto nimepanga, nimejenga,’ ni ukweli ama ni uongo?”

Methu then threw a direct jab at the president, portraying him as a leader who was doing nothing but working overtime to overhype what he had not done.

He pointed out how Ruto had lied to the people about prioritising mama mbogas, yet he had turned around and appointed people like Mutahi Kagwe.

He even asked the crowd to confirm for him whether a wealthy politician like Kagwe could be considered a mama mboga.

“Akiingia alisema anataka atengeneze serikali ya mama mboga. Mutahi Kagwe ni mama mboga? Kindiki ni mama mboga? Sasa tunataka tukueleze—kama unataka kunyima Rigathi Gachagua heshima, ni sawa, lakini usiwanyime heshima maaskofu hawa waliokuombea mpaka ukashinda. Hawa walichaguliwa na Mungu, na lazima uwapatie heshima.”

Gachagua warns Meru people

In the same event, former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua, who was the chief guest, also spoke, cautioning Meru residents against entertaining invitations from President William Ruto to visit him in Karen or accepting any of the handouts he was distributing in an attempt to win them over.

Gachagua told them to understand that the money he was distributing was from his blood-stained wealth, acquired at the cost of massacred Gen Z protesters.

He asserted that the funds Ruto was dispensing were nothing more than taxpayer money that should have been channelled into crucial services such as purchasing medicine for hospitals, rather than being used as bribes to sway political allegiance.

“You don’t need a meeting in Nairobi to understand the issues in Meru. And this talk about bribing people—what he is giving is money that should be used for buying medicine, not bribing leaders. Let me tell you, those who take that money, it’s cursed. It’s blood-stained from Gen Z. These are the same people who oversaw the killing of Gen Z, who killed our children. They carry the blood of our Gen Z children. This is money that should go to hospitals for medicines,” he said.