NAIROBI, Kenya — Former nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba has defended President William Ruto’s victory in the 2022 presidential election, saying her experience as a campaign agent and her observation of the subsequent court proceedings convinced her that the declared results reflected the votes cast.
Orwoba, who campaigned for Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket in the 2022 election, said she remained involved in the electoral process through the legal challenge filed by the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and the Azimio la Umoja coalition.
Speaking during a local television interview on Thursday, September 24, 2026, Orwoba said she had personally witnessed parts of the process and had no reason to believe the election result should have been overturned.
“I have to stand by the win because I was part of the team that campaigned in the last election, and that I was actually an agent in,” she said.
Orwoba cites ballot recounts
Orwoba said her position was also informed by the scrutiny of ballot boxes during the presidential election petition.
She recalled recounts conducted on randomly selected ballot boxes during the court proceedings, saying the results she saw were consistent with the corresponding Forms 34A.
“I remember at one point we were in court where the random ballot boxes were being recounted, and each and every one of those boxes had exactly what was in the Form 34A,” she said.
She subsequently rejected claims that Odinga was denied victory, saying the Azimio candidate lost the election by a relatively narrow margin.
“So, I mean, Raila did lose in 2022, fair and square. We lost with a very small margin of 200,000, and it was because of certain things,” Orwoba said.
Her reference to the margin differs from the official vote difference, which was 233,211 votes.
Ruto was declared winner in 2022
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) declared Ruto the winner of the August 9, 2022 presidential election with 7,176,141 votes, or 50.49 per cent.
Odinga received 6,942,930 votes, or 48.85 per cent.
The Supreme Court subsequently upheld Ruto’s election after considering consolidated petitions challenging the result.
In its judgment, the court examined issues including the IEBC’s use of technology, transmission of Forms 34A, tallying, the constitutional threshold for winning the presidency and allegations of irregularities in the electoral process. The court found that the petitioners had not established grounds sufficient to invalidate the election.
The court’s finding remains the legal position on the validity of the 2022 presidential election.
Uhuru renews claim Raila won
Orwoba’s comments come days after former President Uhuru Kenyatta reignited the debate by saying he still believes Odinga won the 2022 presidential election.
Speaking during a Jubilee Party meeting in Nairobi on September 22, Uhuru said he and other Jubilee leaders had done everything possible to support Odinga’s presidential bid.
“Na kura akapata, na mimi mpaka wa leo najua ya kwamba yeye ndiye alishinda hiyo kura,” Uhuru said.
He also questioned how the coalition supporting Odinga could have performed strongly in parliamentary and gubernatorial contests while losing the presidency.
“Tunajua vile mambo ilienda, na hatutaki iende hivyo tena,” he said.
