Raila Junior Backs Ruto for 2027, Cites Shared Development Vision With Late Father

Raila Odinga Junior has publicly declared his support for President William Ruto’s bid for a second term, making the endorsement during the President’s visit to Kisumu on Sunday, September 13, 2026.

Junior, the son of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, addressed a gathering attended by Ruto and said his late father and the President had shared a vision of driving development across Kenya.

Raila Junior pledges support for Ruto

Introducing himself as “Baba’s son”, Junior directly addressed President Ruto and referenced the relationship the two leaders developed before Raila’s death.

“I know you had a shared vision with Raila of development and bringing things to the ground, and not just in the Nyanza region but the whole of Kenya.”

He then made his position ahead of the 2027 General Election explicit.

“Therefore, Your Excellency, I would like to say that I am supporting and I’m behind you fully.”

The endorsement places Junior among the political figures increasingly backing Ruto as the President seeks a second term.

It also comes as Ruto continues to intensify his political activities in Nyanza, a region that for decades was regarded as one of his strongest political opponent Raila Odinga’s key support bases.

Ruto and Raila’s changing political relationship

Ruto and Raila spent years on opposing sides of Kenya’s political divide, particularly during the 2022 presidential election, when Ruto defeated Raila.

The two politicians, however, later established a working relationship following talks that resulted in the broad-based government arrangement.

Raila subsequently worked with the Ruto administration while retaining his leadership of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).

Ruto has repeatedly spoken about development areas on which he and Raila shared similar views.

Following Raila’s death in October 2025, Ruto said the two had discussed a long-term development agenda for Kenya, including infrastructure, agriculture, industrialisation and energy.

Junior’s latest remarks appear to draw on that shared development agenda as the basis for his support for the President’s re-election bid.

Junior’s growing political profile

The endorsement comes as Raila Junior increasingly steps into the public spotlight following the death of his father.

His recent appearances and political remarks have generated speculation about whether he could eventually pursue an elective position of his own.

In July, Junior hinted at embarking on a new political journey while speaking at a church fundraiser in Homa Bay, although he stopped short of revealing the position he might seek in the 2027 elections.