Opposition leader Raila Odinga has revealed that he is among the people behind Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen's political success.
Speaking during a funeral service in Chebai, Marakwet West in Elgeyo Marakwet county on Saturday, hosted by the lawmaker, Odinga disclosed that he was in the front line in Murkomen's political upbringing and mentorship.
He also said that he was the force behind the Senate Majority Leader's move to join Deputy President William Ruto's now defunct United Republican Party (URP), ahead of the 2013 general elections.
"Kipchumba Murkomen is my political son and student. I tutored and mentored him until he was ready to fly on his own and was ripe to compete with others in the political arena," he said.
"When he told me he wanted to vie for a seat in this region, I advised him to join URP as that was the most popular party in the region at the time and he went ahead to win," he added.
The two leaders have, however, been hostile towards each other in the recent past, as a reason of their varying political affiliations, with Murkomen representing the ruling Jubilee side.
Their unity was recently reignited following Odinga's peace pact with President Uhuru Kenyatta, an initiative that has also led to the reconciliation of Odinga's Orange Democratic Party (ODM) members with their Jubilee counterparts.