Raila in Fifth Bid to Become Kenya's President

Raila Amolo Odinga, the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya presidential candidate in the August 9 General Election, has been described by his Nigerian biographer, Babafemi Badejo, as an enigma in Kenyan politics.

This veteran politician, who has been on the campaign trail since December 9, 2021, crisscrossing the country in search of votes, could become the personification of this year’s election.

Any reference to The Fifth automatically evokes in people’s minds Raila’s candidature. Should he win the presidential vote, he will become the country’s fifth President since independence in 1963.

Founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta ruled until his death in August 1978. He was succeeded by his then Vice-President, Daniel arap Moi, who went on to put in 24 years at the helm of the nation, exiting after the 2002 General Election. Mwai Kibaki became the fourth President and served 10 years, giving way to Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of the founding leader.

Kibaki Tosha

Interestingly, Raila, who faced Kibaki on his Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party ticket in 2007, is credited with having played a pivotal role in getting him elected in 2002. He made the famous declaration, “Kibaki Tosha”, at a public rally at Uhuru Park, Nairobi, galvanising the opposition leaders to throw their solid support behind Kibaki, ending the rule of the independence party, Kanu.

Raila, who will be having his fifth stab at the presidency, this time has the best chance of clinching the coveted post and occupying State House. He has been endorsed by outgoing President Kenyatta as his preferred successor. He also has the backing of Wiper Party leader Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, a former Vice-President to Kibaki, who enjoys a huge following in the three Ukambani counties of Machakos, Makueni and Kitui.

Though he came into the race long after Deputy President William Ruto had already established himself as the likely successor of his boss, Raila has steadily eaten into his lead, with opinion polls now showing a see-sawing battle between the two top candidates.

The 77-year-old Raila’s chances got a huge boost when he picked Narc-Kenya party leader Martha Karua, as his running mate. The veteran lawyer and former Minister for Constitutional Affairs, has brought some added grit to his race, literally helping him to climb up Mt Kenya, a region that had been dominated by DP Ruto.

Her addition to the Azimio ticket is also a clincher, as it gives the women voters a chance to rally behind one of their own to become the second most powerful person in the country, as the Deputy President. She has been well-received in her Kirinyaga home county and neighbouring regions, causing some real panic within DP Ruto’s inner circle.

Prime Minister

Raila, the son of the founding Vice-President, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, is a former long-serving MP for Lang’ata in Nairobi, who was the Prime Minister from 2008 to 2013, when he vied for the presidency for the third time. He lost to President Uhuru Kenyatta, whose running mate was Ruto.

Raila first ran for President on his National Development Party (NDP) ticket in 1997, garnering 665,725 votes or 10.92 per cent of the total vote. He came third behind Democratic Party candidate Mwai Kibaki, with then President Daniel arap Moi running away with the victory.

He ran again in the hotly-disputed presidential election of 2007 against Kibaki, managing a tidy 4,352,993 votes, and losing by a slim margin of about 200,000 votes. This election left a bloody blot on the country’s reputation as a democracy with regular elections every five years. This saw the worst post-election violence that claimed 1,500 lives and several hundred thousand people were evicted from their homes and farms, especially in the Rift Valley.

His fourth loss was in 2017, when President Kenyatta was reelected. However, the presidential election in August was nullified by the Supreme Court over massive irregularities. A repeat poll was held in October, but Raila chose not to take part in it. This fifth attempt means a lot to him, as it will be his very last if he fails to convince Kenyans to vote him into office.

Married to former schoolteacher Ida, the couple had four children. Their firstborn, Fidel, died several years ago. His other children are Rosemary, Raila Junior, and Winnie.

Raila was born at Maseno Church Missionary Society Hospital in Nyanza on January 7, 1947, to Mary Ajuma Odinga and Jaramogi Odinga.

He went to Kisumu Union Primary School and Maranda Primary School until 1962. He would later go to East Germany, joining the Herder Institut to study engineering. In 1965, he joined Magdeburg Technical School, returning to Kenya in 1970. A year later, he established what would later become East African Spectre, the only firm specializing in the manufacturing of gas cylinders in East and Central Africa.

Coup attempt

Before he joined the Kenya Bureau of Standards in 1974, he had worked in the Engineering Faculty of the University of Nairobi. In 1978, he was appointed the Deputy Director of KBS, until he was arrested and detained in 1982, after being associated with the abortive coup attempt by Kenya Air Force soldiers.

He would later merge his NDP with Kanu and President Moi appointed him the Energy minister from 2001 to 2002. He also served as the Kanu secretary-general.

In 2002, President Moi pulled a surprise by endorsing Uhuru Kenyatta as his preferred successor, and asking Raila and others to support him, causing a major fallout. Raila exited with Kalonzo Musyoka, and then Vice-President George Saitoti, in protest against President Moi’s choice of successor. They felt slighted that he had overlooked them and picked an inexperienced person as his would-be successor.

So far, this year, Raila has run a well-oiled campaign, thanks to his March 9 “handshake” with former foe-turned-brother, Uhuru Kenyatta, that elbowed DP Ruto out, paving the way for the ODM leader.

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