Inside Raila’s past calls for mass action
The leader of the Azimio la Umoja movement, Raila Odinga, has been at the forefront of campaigns for democracy and equality in Kenya. Questions have arisen about what drives his passion and motivation to fight for what he calls justice and equality in society.
In his long journey towards advocating for a democratic government, he has often faced opposition from his allies, and his efforts have not always succeeded as planned. As he prepares to lead his supporters in a massive demonstration against the government of President William Ruto next Monday, this will not be the first time that Raila Odinga has faced his opponents and accused them of stealing his victory. He insists that President Ruto did not win the 2022 general election legitimately, despite being declared the winner by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and later endorsed by the Supreme Court.
In 1998, Raila formed a political alliance with former President Daniel Moi after merging his National Development Party (NDP) with Kanu to form the New Kanu party. In June 2001, he was appointed Minister of Energy and later Secretary-General of NewKanu. However, the friendship between Raila and Moi ended a few months before the 2002 general election, after Moi announced former President Uhuru Kenyatta as Kanu’s presidential candidate.
Feeling betrayed by Moi, Raila led his allies to withdraw from Kanu and form the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Among the politicians who left with him were the late George Saitoti, William Ole Ntimama, and others.
Raila then joined former President Mwai Kibaki to form the NARC coalition, which enabled them to emerge victorious in the 2002 general election. Although the coalition seemed to give hope to many Kenyans, differences arose again between Kibaki and Raila. Raila and his allies blamed Kibaki for violating the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which stipulated that Kibaki should appoint him as Prime Minister with authority after they had reformed the constitution.
In 2005, Raila led a campaign against the Constitution, and his faction emerged victorious against President Kibaki’s government. This led to Kibaki firing him and other ministers who opposed the Constitution. In 2007, Odinga refused to accept the presidential election results announced by the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), in which Kibaki was declared the winner. Due to the violence that erupted after that controversial election, Kibaki and Raila had to form a National Unity Government, with Raila serving as Prime Minister.
Efforts to reconcile the two leaders were led by the late former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. Once again, Former President Uhuru Kenyatta was forced to make a handshake with Raila after he claimed that the 2017 presidential election was marred with fraud.
This was after the Supreme Court nullified the presidential election following a case filed by the NASA coalition, led by Raila Odinga. Uhuru Kenyatta had been declared the winner by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Raila refused to participate in the repeat election, citing lack of confidence in the IEBC’s performance. Currently, Deputy President Ruto finds himself at a crossroads like his predecessors, following a threat of demonstrations issued by Raila. Chaos erupted in Kisumu city, forcing the police to confront Odinga’s supporters after they threatened to storm the Kisumu Little State House.
In an interview with ‘Taifa Leo,’ some of them said they were “practicing” as they prepared for massive demonstrations on Monday, after Raila declared it a day of rest. Following this trend, analysts attribute Raila’s drive to the difficult political environment he has grown up in.
In an interview, political analyst Javas Bigambo said Raila’s efforts stem from the difficult political environment he grew up in. “Raila is not a politician of today. He is not a politician of this generation, but someone who started his activism when he was very young, in the 1970s and 1980s. He confronted Moi’s regime, to the extent of being imprisoned for nine years,” said Bigambo.
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