Goodwill of handshake to be Raila’s political lifeline in 2020 and beyond

President Uhuru Kenyatta, his deputy William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga hold hands in solidarity during the launch of the Building Bridges Initiative report at Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi.

The March 9, 2018, Handshake between ODM leader Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta was surprising yet not shocking. Having sworn himself in as ‘the people’s president’ just slightly over a month earlier, a sudden handshake between the two rivals was least expected. It has since been Raila’s political lifeline.

The handshake was not shocking because both the ODM leader and the president had few viable options. They had driven the country through an explosive electoral cycle. The moment of rapture seemed at hand, anytime. The nation lived on a high voltage political live wire.