Kenyan activist, music educator, and youth leader Kasmuel McOure has come out strongly to defend party leader Raila Odinga, accusing the opposition of spreading lies about his health for political gain.

In a statement posted on X on Sunday, October 5, 2025, McOure dismissed the claims that the ODM leader was unwell, saying those behind the rumours were a confused and dishonest group with no vision or conviction.

“There is little to no ideological substance left when you peel away our political detractors’ obsession with His Excellency the Prime Minister. Without his name to slander, they have nothing to say. No vision, no conviction, no courage. Just noise,” McOure wrote.

He went on to describe the group as “a politically confused, dishonest, and disgraced lot calling themselves the ‘opposition’, men who mistake bitterness for principle and chaos for change.”

McOure said ODM would not stop its political activities to entertain baseless claims about Raila, adding that the former prime minister was abroad representing Kenya with dignity.

“Our Party Leader is abroad, carrying Kenya’s dignity on the world stage. We will not suspend our political organisation to indulge the tantrums of the lost. We can’t wait for his return for the ODM @20 jamboree,” he said.

ODM statement

His remarks came hours after Raila’s spokesperson, Dennis Onyango, released a statement dismissing the reports about the ODM leader’s health. Onyango said Raila was not indisposed and had left the country on Friday evening for a routine trip, not for medical reasons as claimed.

“He definitely did not travel to Europe as picked from bloggers and broadcast by some media houses. He is not indisposed, as prayed for by his frustrated opponents,” Onyango said.

Wiper Party statement

However, Wiper Party, led by Kalonzo Musyoka, hit back at ODM, accusing it of dragging Kalonzo’s name into its internal battles. In a statement, the Wiper Patriotic Front said ODM was engaging in “political theatre” to divert attention from its growing discomfort in government.

“The latest outburst by the ODM Party through its surrogates over imagined ‘misinformation on the health of Raila Odinga’ is nothing short of political theatre, an act of desperation from a once respected movement that has lost both its moral compass and political relevance,” the party stated.

Wiper further said Kalonzo harboured no ill will toward Raila and urged ODM to resolve its issues with Kenya Kwanza instead of dragging others into its confusion.