By Jackie Adhyambo
Today, we bid a final farewell to Raila Amolo Odinga, one of Africa’s most resilient, and determined political reformers, in a state funeral that marks the end of an era.
Though Raila never attained the presidency despite five attempts, the former Prime Minister’s legacy is inextricably woven into the beadwork of Kenya’s modern democracy, having contributed significantly in shaping the administrations of four successive presidents. These include the presidencies of Daniel arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki, Uhuru Kenyatta, and William Ruto.
Raila’s political journey with these leaders was a complex dance of rivalry and partnership, often blurring the lines between opposition and establishment. From his early days as a formidable dissident detained without trial under President Moi, he would later astonish the nation by serving as Energy Minister in the twilight moments of the Moi Government.
Raila’s National Development Party (NDP) even joined the Kenya African National Union (KANU) to form what came to be known as New KANU. Owing to the frosty association Raila had with President Moi for years, that culmination sounds more like a wonder of wonders but that is what it was.
A familiar pattern of pragmatic reconciliation would define Raila’s political career as most recently evidenced in his decision to join a ‘broad-based’ Government with his erstwhile rival, President William Ruto. That move—credited by no less than President Ruto himself as a stabilising factor—saved the day during the tumultuous Gen Z protests of 2024.
Looking back, it is Raila’s intricate and decisive role in shaping the legacy of President Mwai Kibaki that best signifies his singular influence on the nation’s trajectory. After his own presidential hopes were dashed, Raila made the strategic decision to throw his weight behind Kibaki in the 2002 election. That move was critical to Kibaki’s victory and the end of KANU’s long rule.
That support, however, was conditional upon a promise of major constitutional reforms, including the creation of a prime minister post for Raila. When President Kibaki’s inner circles became reluctant to implement the MoU apparently couched to hand Raila high status in Government, everything seemed to drift southwards. Consequently, Raila demonstrated his political muscle by successfully campaigning against the Government’s draft constitution in the 2005 referendum.
The events of the day led to a schism that set the stage for the most turbulent chapter of the Kibaki-Raila relationship. The two faced off in the 2007 presidential election whose tail end morphed into some form of a political apocalypse. The disputed electoral result plunged Kenya into weeks of ethnic and political violence, claiming over 1,000 lives and displacing hundreds of thousands in one of the Kenya’s worst crisis since independence.
From this precipice, Raila once again chose pragmatism over perpetual conflict. He stepped back from the brink and, through international mediation, entered a power-sharing Government that made him Prime Minister, the second one in the history of the country and the first in independent Kenya.
It was from this position that Raila co-authored perhaps the most enduring element of the Kibaki legacy – the 2010 constitution. He campaigned relentlessly with Kibaki for its passage, anchoring a document that devolved power away from the imperial presidency, one that reformed key institutions, and ultimately expanded citizens’ rights.
This monumental achievement, which attempted to rectify the political inequalities Raila had long fought against, ensured that his most profound impact on Kenyan governance was cemented during a presidency he never led. Arguably, it is inside the Kibaki administration that Raila’s contribution in the remaking of Kenya manifests best.
In his later years, this pattern of fiery opposition followed by conciliatory ‘handshakes’ continued, first with President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2018 and finally with President Ruto in 2024. Some of Raila’s supporters viewed these compromises as a betrayal. However, reviewed carefully through a microscope of pragmatism, Raila’s decision reflected the reasoning of a seasoned statesman who believed that nation-building at times required collaboration with rivals.
As we lay Baba to rest, we celebrate a colossal political force and a perennial challenger who, without ever winning the ultimate prize, became the indispensable co-author of modern Kenya’s presidential legacies.
Adhyambo is a Nakuru-based knowledge management consultant.