The great lie: Raila has for long pretended to be what he is not

ODM leader Raila Odinga. [File, Standard]

I think Raila Amollo Odinga could be the most misunderstood person in Kenya. We have judged him using the wrong scales. More like beating up a left-handed child to use "the normal right hand".

We erroneously pigeon-holed Raila Odinga in the reformists corner, kept him there and put a lid on it. We believed that that's where he belonged. The "normal" place for him. The place he "obviously" belonged. Once he was there, we refused to see that he was actually in the wrong place. That Raila was naturally left-handed and we were forcing him to use the right hand. We cheered him on when he dined and walked with people who were naturally right-handed. We refused to see that he was actually struggling to use the right hand, unlike the natural reformists.