Raila should know when to call it quits, for legacy and country

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court is expected to determine the presidential election that Azimio la Umoja candidates Raila Odinga and Martha Karua filed about two weeks ago.

With the near universal agreement that the elections were free and fair, the political career of Mr Odinga is at a critical crossroads. And this is especially because, prior to the 2017 election, he had signalled that the contest would have been his ‘last bullet’ in politics. But it was not to be. In this year’s poll, he was back.

Mr Odinga lost the August 9 election to President-Elect William Ruto and all he is hanging on to is the presidential petition that the Supreme Court will make a decision on. He is 77 years old and it is kudos to his tenacity that he has managed a gruelling campaign itinerary, rallies and all that comes with it.

But can anyone bet that this year’s presidential bid is Mr Odinga’s last? His political allies then — Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Amani National Congress’ Musalia Mudavadi and Mr Moses Wetang’ula of Ford-Kenya — had expected Mr Odinga to back one of them in 2017. But they all backed him in that election despite initial scruples.

Handshake

After the 2017 election came the “handshake” between Mr Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta in March 2018. Eventually, Mr Mudavadi and Mr Wetang’ula left that axis and joined Dr Ruto because they understood that the last bullet would never be the last. As for Mr Musyoka, his expectation, again this year, came to naught as Mr Odinga was bent on a fifth stab at the presidency.

Even Mr Musyoka’s push for his usual running mate slot flopped. In fact, the Azimio leader went looking for an alternative and Ms Martha Karua beat the Wiper boss in the ensuing job interview.

It is Mr Odinga’s constitutional right to contest in the next election and beyond. The August 9 poll has shown that he still has substantial support across the country. What is more, his age mate Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o is still active in politics and so is his elder brother Oburu Oginga. Kisumu voters have given Prof Nyong’o a second term, while Dr Oginga just bagged the Siaya Senate seat at 79 years.

However, this election has also shown that it is easy to discern that the walls of Mr Odinga’s Jerusalem are no longer military grade and they are beginning to yield. The Coast, Western and Ukambani regions are cases in point. Before long, the gates will burst open courtesy of unforgiving floods.

Consequently, he should begin an audit of the past 30 years he has been in elective politics and lay the assets and liabilities bare. As he does so, he will come to the realisation that it has been a blight on his career not to have found it fit to mentor leaders to take over from him when the time comes. However, it is not too late to do the right thing.

Younger leaders

The alternative can be so disastrous that no leader should contemplate it. It would be akin to what has hit President Uhuru Kenyatta in the twilight of his tenure. His political party is on its deathbed, the region he called home has decisively turned its back on him and his career has ended the way it started – in turbulence.

But Mr Odinga can take lessons. Founding President Jomo Kenyatta allowed younger leaders to flourish and Kenya has been the richer for it. As a result, the country had Daniel Moi, Mwai Kibaki, Charles Njonjo, Masinde Muliro and Paul Ngei, among others. It is instructive that the first two rose to the apex that Mr Odinga has aimed at, but not yet hit. Of course, that era had its bad manners.

For example, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga was stymied in his political endeavours. He was detained in 1969, released in 1971 but kept under house arrest for more than 20 years simply because he did not ‘toe’ the line. He only returned to competitive politics after the swing to multi-party politics in 1991. Other luminaries of that era such as Pio Gama Pinto, Tom Mboya and JM Kariuki were assassinated in their prime. Kenya has been the poorer for it.

President Moi played hide-and-seek with mentorship and succession until the 12th hour. His bid to push Mr Kenyatta, as he then was, against the wishes of the then ruling party, which Mr Odinga had joined at the 11th hour, flopped.

President Kibaki worked with a freedom hall philosophy. He pushed no one and he held no one back. There was room to flourish and Mr Odinga, President Kenyatta and Dr Ruto blossomed in politics and government in his time, and his tutelage on state affairs cannot be gainsaid.

Jaramogi worked with a constellation of younger leaders in Ford-Kenya. After his demise in 1994, they have played a key role in our public life. They include Kijana Wamalwa, Kiraitu Murungi, Paul Muite and Mukhisa Kituyi, among others.

For Mr Odinga, the choices are clear. Having been in politics 30 years ago, he has the experience to do the right thing for legacy and country. To do otherwise is to blink when duty calls and his legacy will be in tatters.

Forty years ago, he burst into the limelight in very sour circumstances. He was detained for treason due to his involvement in the attempted coup of 1982. It is a crime he has confessed to in one of his books. He was in detention for another two stints.

After the return to multi-party politics, Mr Odinga won Nairobi’s Lang’ata parliamentary seat in the 1992 elections. He represented the constituency for 20 years and rose to Cabinet minister under presidents Moi and Kibaki. In 2008, he joined President Kibaki’s government as Prime Minister in a post-election truce following the 2007 violence.

Mr Odinga’s public life started in turbulence; 40 years on, it should end better.

The writer is in the William Ruto presidential campaign. [email protected]