The ODM party announced on Tuesday that they were withdrawing their candidate in the Wajir West by-elections.
Even though the party said that they were doing so in the spirit of the handshake (Jubilee didn’t field a candidate in Ugenya and Embakasi South), it was interpreted that they were afraid of another shocking defeat.
Remember before the by-elections; ODM had 2 out of the three positions in these by-elections, they will now have non.
Sources have now revealed that in fact it is not ODM who withdrew from the elections but their candidate stepped down after being coerced by William Ruto.
Mohammed Yusuf Elmi was pictured laughing with Ruto, at the same time ODM leaders were making an awkward press announcement about withdrawing from the elections.
Remember, the current Jubilee candidate Ahmed Kolosh was in ODM before ditching the opposition party after his election was nullified by the High Court.
Details have it that Ruto paid Yusuf Elmi a huge amount of money (around 10 million) to withdraw from the elections and embarrass ODM.
Yusuf was set to hold a press conference later in the day, saying he had withdrawn from the elections and chosen to support the Jubilee candidate.
But ODM got wind of this development and decided to beat Ruto at his own game and held a press conference, saying they had withdrawn from the elections.
Some people are also wondering how Yusuf Elmi, a professor, would be convinced by a clan to step down for an undergraduate in an election.