'Handshake' a blessing and curse in our politics

President Uhuru Kenyatta greets Opposition leader Raila Odinga at Harambee House in Nairobi [File/Photos courtesy]

Not long ago, Safaricom had a crisis on its network that was triggered by congestion due to intensity of usage over a short period of time. It happened nearly on all Fridays. Everyone seemed to want to talk to someone. The then Chief Executive Officer Michael Joseph blamed it on the circus where Kenyans keep trying to get through the network even when there are challenges, worsening the situation. He termed it; “Kenya’s peculiar habit”.

Well, in hindsight, indeed we seem to have very peculiar habits that go beyond calls and ‘Please call me’ SMS’s. One of them is how we manage our politics, or is it how our politics manages us? Take the example of the famous handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.