Inside Raila’s BIG Day as he makes his 5th Presidential Declaration

Opposition Chief Raila Amollo Odinga will be making his fifth presidential attempt in 2022. The Mt Kenya Foundation comprising of wealthy business moguls drawn from Central Kenya have endorsed his candidature ahead of his official declaration on December 10th 2021.

The Friday event is a culmination of the ‘Azimio La Umoja’ rallies, where the ODM boss will be endorsed by his Party to contest for presidency.

Raila has been engaging with Kenyans and various friendly political parties ahead of the Friday event.

Parties Supporting Raila’s Presidential Bid 

So far there are a number of political parties that support Raila Odinga’s presidential candidacy. Most of the Parties supporting the ODM leader were recently formed by key political players who want to be part of the presidential transition.

The Parties include: Devolution Empowerment Party (Kiraitu Murungi), National Ordinary People Empowerment Party (Mpuru Aburi), Ubuntu Peoples Party (Lee Kinyanjui), Democratic Action Party of Kenya (Eugene Wamalwa), National Rainbow Coalition (Charity Ngilu), Kenya United Party (John Lonyangapuo) and Jubilee Party (Uhuru Kenyatta).

Parties like KANU and Wiper are also gravitating towards supporting Raila. 

Raila’s Brief Political History

Raila Odinga is presumably the most popular candidate in Kenya, with William Ruto appearing as his fiercest political competitor. 

The son of the founding vice president has had a bruising political career. His debut as Langata legislator in 1992 was a culmination of his bitter struggle with the autocratic KANU regime, which saw him arrested on numerous occasions.

The ODM leader was arrested and tortured by the Nyayo regime, owing to his obstinate resistance against the then president Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi. He, later on, joined KANU through the backdoor after he was defeated in the 1997 presidential elections.

When the push for opposition unity was overwhelming, he led a number of political heavyweights out of KANU and handed the opposition victory in 2002, where Mwai Kibaki was declared as a winner to the chagrin of Moi and his project – Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta.

In 2007, Raila upset Kibaki by having majority of legislators in parliament after a hotly contested poll. According to international observers, the elections were rigged in favor of the incumbent. Raila’s supporters protested the outcome which led to post-election violence. 

It took the intervention of the international community, and Raila Odinga was made the Prime Minister with the privilege of proposing his team to Kibaki’s Cabinet.

In 2013 and 2017 Raila contested for presidency but lost to Uhuru Kenyatta. For the first time in Kenya’s history, elections were nullified by the Supreme Court in 2017 under the tutelage of the then Chief Justice David Kenani Maraga. 

Handshake

The history of 2022 succession politics was largely shaped by the much hyped handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM Leader Raila Odinga.

The president, who had in the past stated that he would support his deputy after the expiry of his presidency changed tune and started supporting his erstwhile political nemesis Raila. This baffled his deputy and his loyal troops.

Jubilee Party suffered a major setback as Uhuru chose to entertain his former rival. Results of numerous mini-polls in Mt Kenya region showed how unwelcome Raila is to the region as Ruto made serious forays to countenance Raila’s presence.