The day Raila experienced near-nuclear war standoff

Raila Odinga gestures after being arrested over the 1982 aborted coup. [File, Satndard]

The world is nervous as itchy fingers in Kyiv and Moscow dance around the key to mass deaths and doomsday.

There are reports some workers in some Ukrainian nuclear stations are missing. Russia is bombing and threatening. The world is fearfully waiting.

Russia has menacingly told the world any weapon fired from a European country towards it will be a declaration of war and could end with the damnation of the world.

The last time the world was this close to nuclear war was at the height of the Cold War in 1962. Then, the two superpowers  - America and Russia - were squabbling over the presence of some nuclear weapons in Cuba.

Earlier, America unsuccessfully tried to topple Cuban President Mr Fidel Castro who had, in turn, sought help from Russia. Moscow had supplied him with nuclear weapons and America was now demanding should be removed.

Cuba was nudging Russia to fire nuclear weapons and teach America a lesson. In the ensuing game of brinkmanship, America declared a blockade on Cuba and ordered all US troops around the world to be on the lookout for ships transporting weapons to Cuba.

This blockade had unintended consequences for a teenage Kenyan, Mr Raila Odinga, who was on his way to Russia to further his education. At the time, he was aboard the 200,000-tonne cargo ship Stubbenkammer.

These happenings are captured in the autobiography titled Raila Odinga: An Enigma in Kenyan Politics.

When US President Mr John F Kennedy announced on BBC on October 28, 1962, that American troops had been placed on alert, Mr Raila’s ship was sailing towards Cyprus en route to Malta. The captain of Stubbenkammer noticed he was being trailed by an American warship. Even after all the passengers and crew were taken to the signal room, the cargo ship was trailed all night.

Although the journey ended well for Mr Raila, the experience spoilt his Damascus moment. Prior to the episode, the opposition chief had just visited Syria and retraced Saul’s biblical journey to the point where he was struck blind and transformed from a persecutor of Christ into a strong defender of Christianity.

Sixty years after visiting Syria, Mr Raila has, like Saul, had his Damascus moment. From a strong critic of government which has in the past earned him a decade in detention, Mr Raila is now the strongest defender of the current government.

And as Mr Raila prepares his battle to State House, the world hopes itchy fingers will be kept off the nuclear weapons switch.