Why we might remember Raila both as our hero and villain

After ODM leader Raila Odinga's quest for the chairmanship of the African Union Commission came a cropper, he has seemingly all but resumed his co-perch at the pinnacle of Kenya's politics. At a time when the William Ruto-led Kenya Kwanza regime is unpopular for, among other things, its handling of the economy, abductions—and, in some cases, execution—of critics and self-embarrassment on a myriad diplomatic fronts, Mr Odinga, in an MoU with Dr Ruto, has elected to self-conscript into its ranks going into the 2027 electoral finale. And the very prospect of his joining Kenya Kwanza divides opinion.

While some, including his staunch supporters, want him to work with Ruto, others, including a different section of his supporters, want him to join the Kalonzo-Gachagua-Karua-Wamalwa-Matiang'i opposition axis that seeks to unseat the man from Sugoi. Going by statements attributable to his acolytes within ODM, including those who not-long-ago joined the Ruto Cabinet, however, it's just a matter of time before we witness yet another "earthquake" in the country's politics—a Ruto-Raila political partnership that promises nothing more than the solipsistic sharing of power.

While there is nothing wrong with Raila joining Ruto's Kenya Kwanza, Raila risks becoming a traitor to the very principles that form and define his enviable political stock. The Kenyan public and historians alike, rightly or wrongly, attribute the constitutional and institutional reform of the last about 40 years to Raila's co-exertions. And the man from Bondo is traditionally reputed to be "the champion of the downtrodden".

Kenyans' experience of the last three years, coupled with the Kenya Kwanza regime's handling of the 2024 anti-tax protests, in which scores of unarmed Gen Z youths were gunned down by face-mask-wearing men not in police uniform, however, has stung many into disaffection with the ruling party. And it's this disillusionment with the Ruto regime that, understandably, makes Kenyans' reaction to Raila's ODM party's alliance with Kenya Kwanza one of disapprobation and odium. Ruto and those in his regime have earned the tag of "oppressors" from Kenyans critical of their policies. And Raila and his ODM party will, therefore, be joining a Ruto on the receiving end of Kenyans' electoral drubbing in 2027.

The Gen Z youth stood, and stand, for a new Kenya of governmental transparency, competence, responsiveness, accountability and integrity. They are deliberately tribeless and party-averse because they appreciate tribal and party cocoons' traditional stranglehold on the country's both national life and developmental prospects. In fact, the Ruto-Raila political pact seeks the alienation of sections of Kenyans from governmental representation. This is clear from the incendiary remarks of some of their demagogic and sycophantic allies and the ethnojingoists within their coalitional ranks.

At 80 years of age, and on his way out, Raila seems bent on blundering his way to the legacy of being both the hero and villain of Kenya's national struggles. He has co-starred in the cast of virtually every effort towards reform and change since the 1980s, first as an enabler then as a spoiler. This time around, for instance, after initially being supportive of the Gen Zs push for good governance and a more integrated Kenya, he has since performed a volte-face and (re)pledged his allegiance to the system. For his newfound political "love affair" with Ruto, he is now the co-focus of the youth's oppositional agitation. And deservedly. 

Mr Mulang'o is a writer and historian

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