Raila Odinga, despite running for the presidency for four times and failing all of them, will be the man to watch in 2022.
Raila was defeated in all the presidential elections he contested, at least officially. And, all of these will not discourage him from running again and stand in the way of his claim to State House. For this reason, and because of the ‘handshake’, we should be getting ready for his last version – Raila 7.0
In 1997, Raila ran for the presidency and finished third behind President Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki. The election was not free and fair, and was marred with irregularities. Kibaki rejected the outcome and so was Raila. Contrary to his critics, Raila never claimed he won the election. By then, he didn’t have a national platform.
Raila 2.0 was the most successful version of Raila Odinga. It happened in 2002 when he declared ‘Kibaki Tosha.’ Raila led dozens of senior politicians including the then Vice President George Saitoti out of KANU and formed the Liberal Democratic Party which he merged it with the opposition party to form the National Rainbow Alliance (Narc). It was in 2002, when Kenyans became the most hopeful people on earth.
LDP was sidelined when Kibaki formed the government in 2003. Kenyans’ hope died away when rift emerged between Kibaki’s and Raila’s wings of government.
Raila 3.0 emerged in 2005. He became stronger and gained countrywide popularity. He led the ‘NO’ team in rejecting the Bomas draft constitution, giving a resounding defeat to President Kibaki.
In 2007 – the year when Raila almost became a president. This was Raila 4.0. He was more popular countrywide and was the face of the change Kenyans were yearning for. He was leading Mwai Kibaki in the result tallying one hour before his victory was snatched and the electoral commission announced Kibaki as the winner.
The 2013 presidential election – Raila 5.0 – was his worst. His presidential campaign was disorganised and most members of the team he formed in 2007 deserted him. He became a wounded and lonely man.
The opposition NASA picked Raila as its flag bearer in 2017 despite his failure to win the presidency in previous three attempts. Raila 6.0 again flopped as a result of rigging which was confirmed by the Supreme Court.
Now, get ready for Raila 7.0 in 2022. We have a president who is retiring. Free, fair and credible elections do happen in third world countries when the incumbent president is not contesting. And, a William Ruto presidency is seen as a continuation of Uhuru’s. And then, there’s the handshake. When Raila shook hand with President Uhuru Kenyattta and vowed to work with him, he was ‘offered the presidency’ in 2022, in whichever form it comes, executive or non-executive.