By Irene Makena
When Raila Odinga defected from Azimio and joined the government, very few Kenyans were surprised because political shortcuts are his modus operandi. His ideology is governmental power at whatever cost. After a thoroughly bruising battle with President William Ruto only two years ago and subsequent claims of having been rigged out, it’s unthinkable for Raila to form a coalition with Ruto even before the electoral issues he raised are addressed.
Worse still, Mr Odinga has joined the feeding trough even before his newest conditions about dropping all cases related to demonstrations and compensation to the families who lost their children as a result of police brutality and prosecution of culprits are achieved.
Mr Odinga’s political character is out for everyone to see: He has never been a reformer or a revolutionary in the true sense of the two words.Raila Odinga has never been committed to the idea of breaking the walls of prison in order to liberate the prisoners. History has demonstrated that his ambition is to be the chief warden. In other words, he is only interested in being in charge of the prison. Over the last three decades, he has always sneaked inside the prison and given a cloak of legitimacy and justification for prison conditions.
After the 1997 highly controversial general election, Mr Odinga, Mwai Kibaki, and other opposition leaders called for a press conference and denounced the results. They signified their intention to challenge the outcome in the courts and through public political engagements, too.
What Mwai Kibaki and others did not know is that Raila was working with President Moi behind their back. It didn’t take long before the country was shocked to learn that Raila was joining the Moi government in what they called Cooperation. Raila became the minister for energy and even wrestled the position of Kanu secretary general from JJ Kamotho. It was a huge betrayal to the progressive forces, especially at the cusps of defeating Kanu’s tyrannical hold on power. He helped Moi keep the gates of prison tightly locked, hoping to be the Chief Warden after Moi.
In the subsequent 2002 elections, President Moi refused to name Raila as his successor and chose Uhuru instead. This made Raila bolt out of Kanu and join Kibaki in the Rainbow coalition, which eventually won the election. By 2005, the government and all stakeholders had made the most significant step ever in giving the country a new constitution. It was a wonderful prison break manual.
However, the draft did not please Raila because his design was to be in charge of prisoners, not liberated people. Therefore, in the 2005 referendum for the new constitution, Raila chose the NO side, which successfully campaigned against the prospective new Charter. Of course, Mwai Kibaki sacked Raila and his team from the cabinet and continued to rule under the draconian constitution.
Then came the 2007 disputed elections. After Raila refused to accept the results, there was widespread violence and bloodshed. After negotiations, Raila accepted to form the so-called the Grand Coalition government with Mwai Kibaki, eventually becoming the Prime Minister under the national accord. This was despite the widespread feeling that he should have taken a little bit more time to ensure justice for the victims and a clear roadmap for resentment of the displaced people.
That is because all this had happened due to his refusal to concede defeat and to contest the outcome in court. Instead, he chose the route inciting the public through demonstrations. To him, the mayhem had secured him an important position in the prison ranks, and to him, that is what mattered.
At least, the 2010 constitution was an inevitable outcome due to Kibaki’s commitment to leave a legacy of national rebirth and the overwhelming desire by citizens to a new dawn of political maturity and liberty.
After the 2017 polls, came the handshake between Raila and Uhuru Kenyatta. This handshake divided the Uhuru administration and subjected the country to four years of feudal conflict until 2022.
But the worst experiment of the handshake partnership was the BBI, whose architect was Raila Odinga. The BBI sought to dilute and reverse all the gains made by the 2010 charter. Luckily, it was unanimously rejected by the High Court, unanimously rejected at the Court of Appeal and trashed by the Supreme Court. Had it succeeded, the BBI could have been a very dangerous assault on the constitution. Why? It sought the reconstruction of prison walls demolished by the 2010 constitution.
So don’t be surprised by Raila Odinga joining William Ruto in sabotaging and drowning the voice of the Gen Zs and that of Kenyans in general. He has never wanted to be President. He has never wanted to break out of the prison. He has never wanted to free the prisoners. His objective has been to achieve the position of the Chief Warden within the prison walls. That has always been his default mode.
The writer is a nominated member of country assembly of Meru
