NAIROBI – The nation of Kenya has fallen silent with the passing of Raila Amollo Odinga, a colossal figure whose life was not just a political career, but the very embodiment of the nation’s tumultuous journey from one-party state to contested democracy. He was a former Prime Minister, a perennial presidential contender, a freedom fighter, a political prisoner, and to millions, the unwavering symbol of the struggle for the “second liberation.”
Odinga’s death marks the end of an era. For over four decades, he was a central, often polarizing, force in Kenyan politics—a firebrand to his adversaries, a messiah to his supporters, and an undeniable titan to all.
Early Life and the Crucible of Detention
Born on January 7, 1945, in Maseno, Raila was introduced to politics from his cradle. His father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, was the nation’s first Vice-President and a fiery opposition leader in his own right. This inheritance was both a privilege and a burden.
His political education turned visceral in the 1980s under the autocratic regime of President Daniel arap Moi. Accused of plotting a coup, Odinga was detained without trial for nearly eight years. These years in the dungeons of Kamiti Maximum Security Prison forged his steel. He was not broken; instead, he emerged as the most prominent face of the pro-democracy movement, a man who had sacrificed his freedom for the ideal of a multi-party Kenya.
The Architect of Political Shifts
Odinga’s political genius lay in his ability to be both an insurgent and a kingmaker. He was a key architect of every major political shift in modern Kenya:
- The 2002 Rainbow Coalition: After Moi’s retirement, Odinga famously delivered his Luo heartland and crucial western Kenya votes to Mwai Kibaki, leading to the landslide victory that ended KANU’s 40-year rule. His rallying cry, “Kibaki Tosha!” (Kibaki is Enough!), became a defining moment of national unity.
- The 2007 Post-Election Crisis and the Grand Coalition: When he ran against Kibaki in 2007, the disputed result plunged Kenya into its worst post-independence violence. It was Odinga’s stature that allowed for a negotiated solution, brokered by Kofi Annan. The creation of a Grand Coalition government with him as Kenya’s second Prime Minister pulled the country back from the brink of civil war.
- The Handshake and the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI): After another bitterly contested election in 2017, the nation braced for further turmoil. Instead, in a move that stunned the nation, Odinga extended a hand of peace to his arch-rival, President Uhuru Kenyatta. The “Handshake” of March 2018 calmed the political temperatures and initiated a failed but significant attempt at constitutional change through the BBI, aimed at ending the winner-takes-all system he believed was toxic for the nation.
A Complex and Enduring Legacy
Raila Odinga’s legacy is as complex as the man himself.
To his supporters, the “Agwambo” (The Mysterious One) or “Tinga” (The Tractor), he was the indefatigable champion of the common man. He fought for devolution, social justice, and a more equitable distribution of national resources. His campaign slogan, “Yes, We Can!” adopted before Barack Obama’s, inspired a generation to believe in the possibility of change.
To his critics, he was a stubborn and disruptive force, a man who never gracefully accepted electoral defeat. They argue that his contested election results in 2007, 2013, and 2017 kept the country in a perpetual state of political anxiety.
Yet, even his fiercest critics must concede that Kenyan democracy would be unrecognizable without his influence. He was instrumental in the fight for the new constitution in 2010, which remains the nation’s most progressive governing charter.
The Man Beyond the Politics
Beyond the fiery speeches and political strategizing, Raila was a family man, married to Ida Odinga, a formidable educator and partner. He was also an accomplished engineer and businessman, having studied in the former East Germany and run a successful manufacturing firm.
His passing leaves a vacuum not just in the ODM party but in the soul of the nation. The political stage feels emptier, the debates less charged, without his towering presence.
Raila Odinga fought his entire life for a Kenya where power was not a birthright of a few but a shared responsibility of all. He never quite captured the presidency, the ultimate prize he so desperately sought, but his life’s work fundamentally shaped the presidency—and the nation—he sought to lead. In the end, the story of Raila Odinga is, in many ways, the story of Kenya itself: a relentless, tumultuous, and unfinished struggle for a more perfect union.
