Today it’s final and there seems to no other way. Every option has been exhausted and the Supreme Court Ruling over the 9th August Presidential Election is settled. The declaration of 15th August 2022 is now the law of the land. This means the loser with the smallest possible margin Raila Odinga didn’t reach in 2022.
Raila Odinga has tried since 1997 to get into the Presidency. Odinga has fought and tried, and never ever given up. No one would have faulted him or been disregarding him in any way. Odinga has fought and justifiably so. In 2017 I felt it was unfair and the second term for Jubilee seemed forced. The Fresh Presidential Elections wasn’t making things any better and now we are here 5 years later; and the Azimio couldn’t deliver or get him there.
Odinga has wanted to go Canaan and the promised land for so long. That has been clear. His only gotten into power or in close association with influence by making handshakes. Either that was Mwai Kibaki or with Uhuru Kenyatta. He himself didn’t get elected or get the majority to settle in. Even if that seemed believable in 2017. However, now? Well, it doesn’t seem so and if it did. There would be more worrying aspects or reports coming out from all corners of the Republic.
The tiredness of the Odinga might have come this time around. It might have been fatigue or even the whole machinery thought it was covered. That’s why it didn’t get across the finish-line in time. Odinga could seem arrogant and ready. It was his “turn” and he was the next in line. Still, the man didn’t get there and now it’s all gone.
Some says Baba the Fifth is the President that Kenya never had. That is true. This is not for the lack of trying. He has sought for it for decades. Built coalitions and parties that others has built their careers around. The Orange Democratic Movement, CORD, NASA and Azimio will be things associated with him. That’s for his role in this structures, movements and coalitions.
If Odinga banked on the Jubilee and Kenyatta’s popularity. Well, that didn’t serve him well. That sort of gamble was not giving him way. No, that has backfired and is evident not being the case. Odinga was close, but it didn’t take him there. That was the whole point of it all.
I’m not writing these things to dismiss or discredit Odinga. Odinga has fought the good fight and been a reformist with a presidential ambition. That final goal was something he never achieved. Odinga fought a lot of other battles and has built a legacy around his name. While that being said, he didn’t overcome the obstacles and found the platform to get ahead. If he had… he would have compete in the Fresh Presidential Elections and would have done it now.
Now we know that both of these is water under the bridge. Odinga will never see the Presidency and be a President. He is a man who was close and who built teams to get there. While these teams and these politicians wasn’t enough. This time it should have been so. Ruto wasn’t that popular and such a beloved character. However, he was still able to play the game and win.
That’s why Azimio have to look into themselves and how they spoiled the race. This should have been in the bank. Was it running on a “third” term of Kenyatta that was spoiling it? I don’t know… but Ruto will be sort of that too. However, he was able to do it and it shocked some people to the core. Now the Supreme Court verdict is out and there is no way back.
There will be people who are lost, feels betrayed and are in a state of mourning. They should be respected and honoured. These people invested into a man and his campaign. These people stood tall and believed in the causes of Odinga. Nevertheless, it was never his time and it’s evident today…
Odinga is the President, Kenya never had and never will have it seems. Raila Odinga, Baba the Fifth was only a dream and it turned into a nightmare. Odinga will be written about and be well respected long after life. He has stood in the test of time. Baba has fought and been on the frontline for rights, justice and liberties. That shall be remembered, but he will also be remembered for never winning and getting into promise land.
He never got to Canaan. He went through the desert and walked in circles, but the Lord Almighty never allowed him to cross River Jordan into the Promised Land. Peace.
MinBane 