Veteran radio host Alex Mwakideu has spoken out after a section of Kenyans launched an email campaign targeting German football clubs Bayern Munich and Ajax, urging them to pull out of a high-profile match planned for Nairobi.
President William Ruto had earlier announced that the two clubs would headline the official opening of the Raila Odinga International Stadium on January 5, 2027.
The Kenyans behind the campaign are believed to be critics of the Ruto administration, some of whom have accused the government of using security forces against political dissidents.
Mwakideu, speaking in an exclusive phone interview with Newsunplug.co.ke, did not mince his words.
“It is foolishness. Why do they want it cancelled? The stadium is named after Raila Amollo Odinga. He had a good relationship with Germany. These teams are from Germany; for them to come and open this stadium, it only makes sense,” he said.
Alex Mwakideu on Raila’s love for German football
The radio host went further to frame the match as a fitting tribute to the late opposition icon, pointing out that football from Germany held a special place in Raila Odinga’s heart.
“There is a relationship between Raila Odinga and these teams from Germany because he loved football made in Germany. If you asked him which teams he was supporting, if it was not the national team, it would be football made in Germany or Arsenal for the English league. Why would you protest? Why go against things Raila supported?” Mwakideu said.
He also highlighted the broader economic value of hosting such a match, noting it would draw global attention to Nairobi and open doors for tourism.
“Yet they would open up the doors to tourism, get guests visiting and sell Nairobi. Once you announce it like that, it becomes a huge thing in Germany, in the world. The world is watching. It supports so many other areas, not just the stadium. It is bigger than that,” he added.
Mwakideu urges Kenyans to separate politics from progress
Beyond the immediate controversy, Mwakideu used the moment to call for a more mature national conversation, one that rises above political divisions.
“As long as we leave it to the politicians, we will never differentiate things. The day we start talking about things as Kenyans, we will begin to differentiate things. The stadium is looking amazing, and it is the first we are seeing after Nyayo Stadium, which was constructed in the 1980s. Politics aside, we need to start thinking; that is the only way we can move forward,” he said.
The Raila Odinga International Stadium represents Kenya’s first major stadium development in decades, and Mwakideu’s appeal appears to be a call for Kenyans to protect that milestone from being consumed by political rivalries.
