Raila proves yet again why he is ultimate broker of political power

President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga at Yoweri Kaguta Museveni's Kisozi country home, February 2024. [PSCU]

Azimio leader Raila Odinga Wednesday lived up to his name of enigma after he managed to squeeze four Cabinet slots from President William Ruto, a man who defeated him two years ago.

Raila firmly placed his foot in the Kenya Kwanza administration, sealing his fourth back-to-back entry into government after losing in presidential elections in 1997, 2007, 2013, 2017, and 2024.

This move solidifies his reputation as the ultimate dealmaker and kingmaker.

After much anticipation, President Ruto welcomed four senior ODM party officials into his government, handing the coveted National Treasury docket to Raila’s party chairman John Mbadi.

Former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, who had benefited in the Government of National Unity in 2007, was also nominated as Cooperatives and MSME Development Cabinet Secretary. Oparanya is an ODM deputy party leader.

Another ODM deputy leader, Hassan Joho, was nominated as CS for Mining, Blue Economy, and Maritime Affairs. National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi, who is also ODM Secretary of Political Affairs, was nominated to head the powerful Energy and Petroleum docket.

Although the deal between the President and Raila on sharing Cabinet seats has widely been perceived as a major betrayal by opposition sympathizers, including Wiper and Narc Kenya party leaders Kalonzo Musyoka and Martha Karua, ODM leader allies have praised it as a significant achievement.

Ruto has in the past accused Raila of using blackmail tactics, such as protests, to arm-twist past presidents into sharing government power with the Opposition.

“We will have an opposition in Kenya. We will not have a handshake that creates a mongrel of a government where no one knows where the line is. I believe in the rule of law. I believe in an accountable government held to account by a responsible opposition. That is how Kenya is going to move forward,” the Head of State said after the Supreme Court upheld his election on September 5, 2022.

On Wednesday, Ruto co-opted, handing over the National Treasury, the very engine of his government, to Mbadi, who in 2022 sensationally described the president’s choice of Cabinet as a skunk because the nominees were his 2022 campaign managers, who had no managerial skills of public resources.

Political expediency

“This is a Cabinet that was informed by political expediency. The president is simply telling us that we give him a Cabinet that is not going to function because he is ready to run the entire government system, machinery, and structure from State House using advisors,” he said.

Mbadi had claimed that the Cabinet was deficient in terms of academic and professional competence, experience, and integrity. If approved, he will now sit with some of the CSs he had castigated.

“Look at the case of Davis Chirchir, this is the same gentleman who was removed from office in 2015 on matters of corruption; he left no impact in that ministry. The threshold under Chapter 6 is higher than cases being in court,” he had charged during vetting.

During the campaigns, Ruto had complained how the handshake had led to his isolation and failure by former President Uhuru Kenyatta to consult him on important government matters. He vowed that he would never let Raila into the government.

The May 9, 2018 handshake that made Ruto break ranks with his boss was another move that reminded Kenyans that Raila is a dealmaker after he shook hands with Uhuru in a deal that was meant to end the impasse that had followed the 2017 disputed presidential elections and the tension that came with it.

Although Raila’s men did not join the Jubilee government, as will be the case in the Kenya Kwanza administration, the opposition leader started enjoying the trappings of power even though he held no official state position.
During the 2022 presidential campaigns, Raila managed to convince President Uhuru to forsake his deputy Ruto and support his presidential bid despite being in the Opposition.

On October 20, 2019, the African Union Commission chairperson Moussa Mahamat appointed Raila as High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa.
With the distinguished appointment as a special envoy, Raila was accorded an office in Addis Ababa with frequent travel across the continent to mediate in peace negotiations and conflict resolution. He was also handed a fully-furnished office in Nairobi, with staff and advisers to boost his local presence and unity programs with Uhuru.

State functions

Other than the distinguished appointment, the ODM leader started attending important state functions, including State House banquets.

Prior to the handshake government with Uhuru, Raila in 2008 formed a government of national unity with the third President, the late Mwai Kibaki, after the 2007-2008 post-election violence that was also the major deal breaker between him and Ruto, who was his confidant and political ally.

In 2007, Ruto, who was Eldoret North MP, campaigned for Raila’s presidential bid, which ended in a disputed poll but later saw the ODM leader bag the Prime Minister’s position.

This was Raila’s second handshake with the government after he successfully penetrated Moi’s administration in 1997 in a deal that ultimately saw the President reshuffle his Cabinet to accommodate the opposition leader and his National Development Party (NDP) into the ruling Kanu regime.

In his new political bromance with Ruto, Raila is having problems with his Azimio co-principals Kalonzo and Karua, who separately told The Standard that they were bewildered by his move.
“We are still digesting what has happened and will consequently gather to address the matter,” Kalonzo said.

“Let every person stand by the courage of their convictions. It is Kenyans who feel betrayed and not necessarily us in Azimio, and although coalitions are the way to go, Azimio now stinks to the high heavens,” Karua said.
Political pundits believe the broad-based government will prompt a paradigm shift in the political affairs of the country, opining that both Raila and Ruto will ferociously pursue their political goals.

Charles Njoroge said the opposition leader has always gone into a political alliance with a third eye; that of forming a political union with his arch rivals.
“Out of the broad-based government, Raila and his men will craft a political alliance which they will use to vie in 2027, and ultimately, there will be victims who will cry out loudly as has been the case in the past,” he added.