When, on January 7, Raila Odinga celebrated his 78th birthday, there was no sign that the opposition leader was anything but buoyant.
Reclining on a single-seater sofa, high-spirited Raila was as fresh as a daisy. Clad in a white shirt, blue jeans, and a bucket cap, he, flashing a wisp of his enigmatic smile, gave the impression that he - at long last, at least outwardly - recovered from the August election loss and was bracing for another political life.