This archive report was first published on 4 January 2020.
On the eve of the 2013 General Elections in Kenya, Cambridge Analytica, a UK-based consultancy firm, made a bold move by approaching Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to manage his presidential campaign. However, ODM was not convinced of the idea and declined the offer, citing their confidence in winning the election.
As revealed by leaked emails obtained by Kenya Insights and published by HindsightFiles, Cambridge Analytica had initially drafted a proposal for ODM to win the 2013 General Elections. The emails show a series of back-and-forth communications between the two parties, with ODM expressing their confidence in winning the election without the need for Cambridge Analytica's services.
One email dated January 5, 2015, reads: 'As a quick reminder, whilst working for Jimnah, he got me a meeting with the seemingly all of Odinga's senior staff and they were interested.' Another email states: 'We had a fruitful engagement which led to a meeting with Marcus Beltran of SCL and Orange Democratic Movement ODM top brass who included the Former Prime Minister's Permanent Secretary Mohammed Isahakia.'
Despite ODM's initial rejection, Cambridge Analytica continued to engage with the party, and the emails reveal that they were in communication with some top employees ahead of the 2017 General Elections. However, Cambridge Analytica was not willing to work with Raila's ODM since their deal with Uhuru Kenyatta's The National Alliance Party (TNA) was still in play, offering a huge payout.
After losing the 2017 General Elections, Raila and his camp accused Cambridge Analytica of election malpractice and threatened to sue.
