Bahati reveals he regrets supporting Baba in 2022

Kenyan artist Kelvin ‘Bahati’ Kioko has expressed regret for supporting Azimio leader Raila Odinga’s 2022 presidential bid.

In an interview on September 25, 2023, Bahati also disclosed that he financed his campaign independently despite contesting on a Jubilee party ticket. He said he spent roughly Sh27 million on his campaign.

Bahati also revealed that President William Ruto secretly supported him despite being on the opposing side during the campaign period. The Head of State was serving as the Deputy President at the time and had fallen out with his then-boss Uhuru Kenyatta.

Bahati said that Azimio never believed in young people, but Ruto did. He said that Ruto was the first one to know that he was interested in running for the Mathare MP seat, and that he supported Bahati’s campaign.

Bahati said that he had been assured of a job offer by Mr Odinga in exchange for stepping down in favor of Anthony Oluoch, who ultimately won the seat.

Bahati also addressed an incident during the campaign when he left a rally where Raila was speaking. He said that he knew Raila was going to endorse him for the seat on that day, but that Raila instead told him to drop his bid and that he would give him a job. Bahati said he wondered how Raila would give him a job, yet he was also jobless.

Bahati secured a distant third place in the highly competitive Mathare MP race, with the incumbent Anthony Oluoch of ODM emerging as the winner.

Bahati said that he has since expressed his ambition to run for the presidency in the 2037 elections.