At the launch of his presidential bid on Monday, Mr Musyoka surprised friends and foes alike when he hit hard at his opponents after the Kamba Council of Elders gave him the blessings to fight for the presidency.

He described Prime Minister Raila Odinga as a fake reformer and questioned the source of money that Kilome MP John Haroun Mwau has been using in his constituency.

On Monday, in an apparent reference to the PM, Mr Musyoka said: “If The Hague was there in 1982, then some of us who are seeking leadership should have been in jail somewhere in the Netherlands.

“They tried to overthrow an elected government, and in the process caused many deaths and made our economy to suffer. These are the same people who today claim to be reformists.”

Still on Mr Odinga, Mr Musyoka added: “And the other day, we saw them seeking the ears of retired President Moi in a bid to woo him. I think we should tell him (Raila) to apologise to Moi first for the harm he caused his government.”