{"id":123526,"date":"2025-10-22T12:07:52","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T12:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/10\/22\/united-opposition-distances-itself-from-kahigas-remarks-on-raila\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T12:07:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T12:07:52","slug":"united-opposition-distances-itself-from-kahigas-remarks-on-raila","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/united-opposition-distances-itself-from-kahigas-remarks-on-raila\/","title":{"rendered":"United Opposition distances itself from Kahiga\u2019s remarks on Raila"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 22 \u2014 The United Opposition has distanced itself from recent remarks made by Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga regarding the passing of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, which have drawn widespread condemnation across the country.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a statement issued by its spokesperson, Mukhisa Kituyi, the coalition described Kahiga\u2019s comments as \u201cthe very definition of hate speech as clearly defined and outlined in our Constitution under Article 33.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coalition further clarified that Kahiga is not a member of their alliance, urging the public to treat his statements as personal and not representative of the opposition.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the record, Governor Kahiga was elected on the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Party ticket. He is not a member of the United Opposition or any party under our umbrella,\u201d the statement read in part.<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernor Kahiga\u2019s despicable sentiments should, in one accord, be wholly condemned by all Kenyans, starting with his UDA Party Leader, President William Samoei Ruto, the party\u2019s Chairperson, Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire, and Secretary-General, Senator Hassan Omar.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement comes in the wake of Kahiga\u2019s resignation as Vice Chairperson of the Council of Governors (CoG) amid mounting outrage over his remarks on Odinga\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Citing the intense public backlash, Kahiga said he was taking \u201cfull responsibility for both the real and perceived impact\u201d of his words by stepping down from the leadership position.<\/p>\n

During a burial ceremony in Kieni, Nyeri County, Kahiga had remarked that the death of the former Prime Minister had \u201clevelled the political playing field\u201d for the Mt. Kenya region comments that quickly went viral and triggered a nationwide uproar.<\/p>\n

Kahiga later clarified that his statements were made in the context of political reflection and not intended to mock or trivialize Odinga\u2019s passing.<\/p>\n

The controversy unfolds as the country observes a period of national mourning following Odinga\u2019s death on October 15 while receiving treatment in India.<\/p>\n

Raila Odinga is remembered as one of Kenya\u2019s foremost champions of the second liberation, a statesman who endured detention, imprisonment, and torture in his lifelong pursuit of multiparty democracy, devolution, and civil liberties.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 22 \u2014 The United Opposition has distanced itself from recent remarks made by Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga regarding the passing of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, which have drawn widespread condemnation across the country. In a statement issued by its spokesperson, Mukhisa Kituyi, the coalition described Kahiga\u2019s comments as \u201cthe very definition […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123526\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}