Of Uhuru, Raila and the sins of their fathers

President Uhuru Kenyatta, African Union Envoy Raila Odinga, Kisumu deputy governor Mathews Owili at the burial of former chairman of Youth Enterprise Bruce Odhiambo at Koru in Kisumu county on January 19th 2019. (Collins Oduor, Standard)

Mr Raila Odinga looked at me and said; “Uhuru cannot jail me, he just can’t. He is my younger brother”. We were at his home in Karen’s Kerarapon area and the clock was ticking towards his second electoral showdown with Uhuru-Ruto.

“He calls me, he comes to this house, he likes that seat (points at a single-sofa set in the elegantly furnished and expansive patio),’’ said Raila. As he spoke, images from his sister Ruth’s account that Raila used to carry her and Uhuru at the back of the car as children of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga rolled in my mind. I asked myself how different Kenya would be had the fathers of these two, who shaped her history only to fall out over ideological differences and modus operandi for wealth accumulation, stuck together.