Lawyer Miguna Miguna has accused Royal Media Services founder SK Macharia of misrepresenting his political role during Kenya’s disputed 2007 presidential election, reopening a contentious chapter of Raila Odinga’s political history during his first death anniversary commemorations.
On Friday, October 16, 2026, Miguna challenged suggestions that Macharia supported Raila and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) during the 2007 election, insisting that the media businessman and his broadcasting network instead backed then-President Mwai Kibaki.
Miguna challenges Macharia
In a strongly worded statement published on X, Miguna accused Macharia of attempting to rewrite the history of the election and his media company’s coverage.
“SK MACHARIA LIED AT RAILA’S ANNIVERSARY,” Miguna declared.
Royal Media Services owner SK Macharia
He disputed the portrayal of Macharia as a supporter of Raila during the election, maintaining that Royal Media Services had promoted Kibaki’s candidacy.
“The truth is that Macharia and his entire media empire supported Mwai Kibaki and PNU in 2007/8,” Miguna stated.
“I was there. I saw it. Raila also told me the same.”
Miguna further accused senior Royal Media Services employees, including Citizen TV journalist Linus Kaikai, of participating in what he described as an attempt to distort the historical record.
Those accusations represent Miguna’s account of the events and have not been independently established by the material accompanying his statement.
Miguna accuses Citizen TV over 2007 results
Miguna also accused Citizen TV and other Royal Media Services stations of manipulating presidential election figures in 2007 to create the impression that Kibaki was gaining ground against Raila.
He argued that the broadcasts contradicted the electoral figures available at the time.
“Only @citizentvkenya announced Kibaki’s fake figures from Tharaka Nithi and declared him the winner of 2007 presidential election,” Miguna wrote.
Royal Media Services owner SK Macharia with Raila Odinga
He further accused the broadcaster of contributing to the tensions that preceded the 2007–2008 post-election violence.
Miguna compared Royal Media Services’ conduct to that of Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, the Rwandan broadcaster associated with incitement during the 1994 genocide.
That is a serious accusation. The material provided does not independently establish that Citizen TV fabricated election results, declared Kibaki president before the electoral commission or caused the violence.
The Independent Review Commission, which investigated the disputed election, found serious defects in vote counting, transmission and tallying. It concluded that the integrity of the presidential results had been fundamentally compromised. <Cite ref=”turn915739search2″/>
The Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence also examined the role of the media alongside the conduct of security agencies and other factors behind the unrest. <Cite ref=”turn915739search33″/>
Macharia’s anniversary remarks
Miguna’s attack followed Macharia’s tribute to Raila at Migwena Grounds in Bondo, Siaya County, on Thursday, October 15.
During the commemoration, Macharia described Raila as a close friend whose political career he had supported for decades.
“I have supported Raila through thick and thin,” Macharia said.
He also described the former Prime Minister as “a president that Kenya needed but never had.”
Macharia traced his relationship with the Odinga family to 1992, recalling his association with Raila’s father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
He said the relationship extended beyond politics and highlighted his support for Raila during the 2022 presidential campaign.
Miguna, however, challenged the suggestion that this support had remained consistent throughout Raila’s political career.
His central argument was that Macharia’s account of his relationship with Raila omitted what Miguna considered the media owner’s role in the disputed 2007 election.
The disagreement has revived questions about political loyalty, media coverage and the historical record of an election whose disputed outcome plunged Kenya into a national crisis.
Macharia’s documented anniversary speech establishes what he said about supporting Raila, but it does not independently resolve Miguna’s accusations concerning the 2007 broadcasts. Those accusations would require examination of archived election coverage and the relevant investigative findings.
