From Saitoti to Kindiki: Raila's quiet eclipse of Kenya's deputies

President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice President after grand coalition parliamentary Group meeting at KICC.[FILE/Standard

Several vice and deputy presidents have, over the years, found themselves playing second fiddle to the late ODM leader Raila Odinga — a man whose political manoeuvres repeatedly redrew the country’s power map. This pattern dates back to 2002, starting with the late Prof George Saitoti.

At the time, Saitoti was one of several senior politicians edged out of the succession equation by President Daniel arap Moi, who was planning his retirement from active politics. Among those discarded was the influential, long-serving Kanu Secretary General Joseph Kamotho. His position was taken by Raila after delegates endorsed the merger between Kanu and Raila’s National Development Party (NDP), forming “New Kanu” at a landmark event in Kasarani Stadium on March 18, 2002.