pressure and when to respond forcefully. The difference, however, lies in their postdetention paths- Mandela ascended to the highest leadership as President; Raila’ s story became one of ongoing contention; a testament to a different kind of resilience- continuing to fight for change and leadership transformation despite repeated setbacks.
Strategic Moves: The Pragmatic Pursuit of Democracy
Resilience formed Raila’ s backbone, but it is political pragmatism that became his operating system. This is a rare quality, not mere compromise, but what might be called“ principled pragmatism”; which is the ability to advance core democratic ideals through tactical alliances, even with former adversaries. Almost akin to conspire with the enemy for the good of the people, progress and posterity of the nation.
The 2002 general election provides a vivid example. The NARC party nomination did not favour Raila; he lost to Mwai Kibaki, and many viewed his next move as a political suicide pact; he went ahead and dissolved his party! He enthusiastically joined the coalition and became the most daring chief campaigner for his former rival under the famous slogan he coined,“ Kibaki Tosha!”( Kibaki is Capable!) This was not an ideological betrayal; it was a strategic genius move. He recognised that to defeat the incumbent and powerful party, KANU, which had enjoyed ruling the nation since independence, unity was essential. KANU’ s thirty-nine-year rule ended with NARC’ s landslide victory.
We witnessed the same quality in Barack Obama’ s approach to political coalitionbuilding. Incorporating ideas from Republican thought leaders, the Obama healthcare reform was built and supported across the US. Raila’ s political progress and constitutional reform agenda incorporated input across Kenya’ s political spectrum.
Obama and Raila understood that in pluralistic democracies, purity and a hard stance are often the enemy of progress.
The difference, however, is telling; where Obama’ s pragmatism was often criticized by his base and circle as being too conciliatory, on the other hand, Raila too was attacked for his pragmatism from both flanks; his allies saw betrayal, and his rivals saw opportunism. Yet both leaders operated from the same understanding; in politics, the perfect combination and circumstance is often the enemy of the good sought. Global Approach: The Pan-African Focus
Raila’ s political playbook had the entire continent in his redemption and empowerment gaze. He knew too well that we either advance together or pull others into the progress we seek. He is akin to the good farmer who enjoys a good harvest and shares his fruit and seeds with the neighbours so that all may find the good of the land. He travelled across Africa with a similar quest for democracy and institutional reforms that would benefit all people. Raila Odinga consistently projected what can only be described as a Pan-African vocation. A noble quality that sees national politics as intrinsically linked to continental destiny. This is not the theoretical in the sense of conference hall meetings, but an operational philosophy that informed his approach to everything from human rights, minority and marginalised groups recognition, conflict
Raila was a brand. He never remained static, he challenged the status quo, weaved controversy into positive feedback and placed his brand as a fulcrum of Kenyan Politics. All the nicknames he was accorded, he embraced them and used the most compelling one to create a national conversation at that time. He could well be the most media-covered politician of our time in Kenya and Africa at large. Raila was a master of political branding. mediation and regional integration.
His role as the African Union’ s High Representative for Infrastructure Development was a culmination of Pan- African engagement across decades. That included earlier, lesser roles a part of the team that mediated the peace process in South Sudan; engaging Somali leaders on regional stability and consistently advocating for the actualization of the East African Community and Federation, not as a distant dream, but as an urgent necessity. He had this description of African Borders that became famous,“ artificial lines drawn by colonialists,” which was not just rhetoric but was his informed, consistent push for visa-free travel, continental free trade, and shared infrastructure.
He followed the footsteps of Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’ s first president and Pan-Africanism pioneer most visionary priest. Nkrumah’ s famous declaration that“ the independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent” finds its contemporary echo in Raila’ s career. Both understood that Africa’ s nations were too small, too fragmented by colonialism to thrive in isolation. The difference, however, is one opportunity; where Nkrumah tried to build Pan- Africanism from the leading elite, Raila often had to champion and build it from political trenches- making his continental impact all the more remarkable.
The People’ s Servant: Mastering the Needs of the People
The most distinctive quality of Raila Amolo Odinga is the understanding and mastery of the needs of the people, not only in his backyard but across the country and the continent. He listened keenly to what people were saying, what they could not say and what they thought even without saying. He had his ears to the ground. He had networks that gave him intel; he was also known to show up in villages in Kenya unannounced and to stay for days within communities far from his home. He knew true patriots who would offer him unbiased, raw intelligence from the grassroots. He was truly a grassroots symphony master!
This quality set him apart in Kenya’ s political landscape as he had an unparalleled anthropological connection to ordinary Kenyans. This was beyond typical political populism; it was deeper, an almost intuitive understanding of Kenya’ s complex cultural geography and the ability to speak its many languages, both literal
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