End of an era, fall of Kenyan dynasties
ON August 15, William Ruto was declared President-elect of Kenya after edging past Raila Odinga in a tightly-contested election.
The election was held after outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta dramatically endorsed his long-term rival Raila Odinga, a move seen by many as a betrayal of his Deputy President Ruto.
At the time of writing, it was highly likely that the result will still be contested in court, nevertheless this day will remain in history as the day a long era in Kenyan politics came to an end. Perhaps I should confess my interest in Kenyan politics which was born in 2019 during a holiday trip to Nairobi. From the airport, one is graced by a name that is impossible to miss, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, not to mention the Kenyatta University and Kenyatta National Hospital. The Kenyatta name is inseparable from Kenyan Independence. Jomo Kenyatta is the founding President of Independent Kenya.
The formation of the dynasties Jomo Kenyatta, father to Uhuru, became Kenya’s President in 1964 until his death in 1978. Just as much as the Kenyatta name is inseparable from Kenya, the name Odinga is inseparable from the name Kenyatta.
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, father to Raila, was Jomo Kenyatta’s Deputy President from 1964 after he relinquished his position as the Luo King. Odinga resigned from his position and the party Kenyan African National Union (KANU) in 1966 following disagreements with President Kenyatta because he preferred alliances with the Eastern bloc, China and Russia, while Kenyatta preferred the Western bloc led by the USA. The fallout between the two marked the beginning of what was to become the greatest rivalry in Kenyan politics. Odinga went on to form an opposition party known as the Kenyan People’s Union in 1966. The rivalry was so intense that in 1969 they verbally attacked each other, causing chaos that resulted in the death of 11 people.
The Moi effect
After the death of Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel Arap Moi took over the presidency and tried to bring Odinga closer, but the relationship failed because the new president upheld his predecessor’s policies, to Odinga’s dismay.
The fallout with Moi resulted in Odinga attempting a failed coup on the government, leading to his arrest along with his son, Raila, and later formation of his FORD party.
The party split in 1992 after Odinga lost the election to become its leader.
It is said that FORD caused the end of KANU’s 40-year reign after Jaramogi Odinga’s death.
Raila Odinga took over the opposition reigns from his father through formation of the NDP and made his first attempt at being Kenya’s President in 1997 but finished third, with President Moi victorious. The NDP later merged with KANU but the relationship between Moi and Raila went sour in 2002 after Moi endorsed young Uhuru Kenyatta to succeed him, much to Raila’s disappointment. Raila Odinga led an exodus from KANU culminating in the formation of the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC)
Fallout of the heirs and Mwai Kibaki With NARC, Odinga ran the campaign for Mwai Kibaki to win resoundingly against Moi-endorsed Uhuru Kenyatta.
Kibaki did not appoint Odinga as Prime Minister contrary to their agreement. Odinga went on to form the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). After a split in 2007, the ODM elected Raila Odinga as its leader.
Interestingly, one of the contestants was William Ruto. Raila contested in 2007 losing to Kibaki by a narrow margin, which led to mass protests, resulting in the 2008 power-sharing deal which made Odinga Prime Minister.
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