By Melchizedek Makhanu
On this Mashujaa Day, as Kenya gathers to honour her heroes, we pay special tribute to a man who was, himself, an institution of Kenyan politics. That is no other than late former Prime Minister, Raila Amolo Odinga who was laid to rest yesterday in his home in Bondo in Siaya County of Nyanza region.
In the wake of Raila’s passing, the nation reflects not on a president who never was, but on a political colossus whose legacy is chiselled into the very foundations of the modern Kenyan state. His was a journey defined by a unique constellation of attributes that include resilience, pragmatism, reformist zeal, mass mobilisation, and pan-African vision. The fusion of those five attributes and how they conspired to create history ultimately forged one of the most consequential careers in Kenya’s political annals.
The bedrock of Raila’s political life was an unyielding resilience, forged in the brutal furnaces of dictatorship. His long struggle for multi-party democracy saw him detained without trial for nearly eight years cumulatively under the regime of Daniel arap Moi. He endured solitary confinement for his unbending beliefs. Yet, from the harsh confines of Nyayo House, Raila emerged more committed to peaceful change, itself a symbol of wilful defiance whose myth was cemented by suffering.
This capacity to endure was a thread that ran through his entire career. The same rare streak of resilience is evident in Raila’s ability to reorganise and reinvent himself after each of his five heartbreaking presidential defeats. In this we witness a spirit that refused to be crushed by temporal setbacks.
Perhaps his most distinctive, and at times controversial, trait was Raila’s radical pragmatism. He was a master of the political handshake, often to the bewilderment of both allies and adversaries. He could with seamless ease pivot from a fiery opposition leader to a partner in Government, as he did with President Moi, whom he later served as Energy Minister.
In hindsight and from perspectives shared by the many that eulogised him Raila was after all not the opportunist some would like us to believe he was. It is time to entertain the truism that Raila was more of a calculated statesmanship aimed at national stability.
Raila’s decision to enter a coalition government as Prime Minister after the violently disputed 2007 election pulled Kenya back from the precipice of civil war. Later, the famous 2018 handshake with his erstwhile rival, President Uhuru Kenyatta, was a dramatic act of reconciliation that calmed political tensions and redrew Kenya’s political horizon.
Jakom’s defining legacy, however, remains his unwavering crusade for institutional reform. He was a founding father of the 2010 Constitution, a transformative document that devolved power to the counties, strengthened the judiciary, and introduced a robust Bill of Rights. This monumental achievement, which he championed while serving as Prime Minister, made a bold bid to rectify the very political inequalities he had long fought against. That alone is a lasting emblem to Raila’s vision for a more equitable and democratic Kenya.
Complementing Raila’s strategic mind was his unparalleled genius as a mass mobiliser. Affectionately known as “Baba” and “Agwambo”, he commanded a near-fanatical loyalty from his supporters. This became clearest once he passed on. Raila’s ability to fill public spaces and sway the national conversation was unmatched, as starkly demonstrated in 2018 when he defiantly declared himself the “people’s president” at a huge rally in Nairobi, an act of political theatre that captured the imagination of millions.
Finally, his perspective always extended beyond Kenya’s borders, embodying the spirit of a dedicated pan-Africanist. In his role as the African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development, Raila championed the dream of a connected, self-reliant Africa, advocating for continental projects such as railway connectivity between Lagos to Mombasa. His recent bid for the AU Commission chairmanship, though unsuccessful, testified to Raila’s enduring belief in African unity and his stature as a continental statesman.
As we mark this day of heroes, today’s celebration is undoubtedly imbued with the memory of Raila Amolo Odinga. Thankfully, the Government has rightly confirmed that the Mashujaa Day fete will proceed, noting that Agwambo will be featured prominently among the heroes being honoured.
It is a fitting tribute to a man who, though he never occupied State House, expanded the democratic space for all, gave ordinary citizens a sense of dignity, and shaped Kenya’s destiny as profoundly as any president.
Raila truly was, and will remain, a true shujaa.
Dr Makhanu is a history scholar