Raila's 'Ruto must go' calls are echoes from a distant past

Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga. His current Sisyphean task is to disrupt President William Ruto's government. [David Njaaga, Standard] There is a place in Central Kenya called Mathigo. Story has it that following the 1992 presidential elections, Kenneth Matiba, a candidate who lost to President Daniel Moi, made a stop at the market centre. Addressing a crowd that gathered around him, he declared emphatically that, "Moi must go." To the locals, it came across as "Moi mathigo." Mathigo has since overshadowed the original name. According to Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king who had cheated death twice. For that, he was punished. Hades, god of the underworld, forced him to roll an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll back every time it neared the top, repeating this action for eternity. Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga seems fated to be the Kenyan version of Sisyphus. He has lost the presidential elections five times and may yet throw in his hat in the ring come 2027. Odinga's current Sisyphean task is to disrupt President William Ruto's government. His clarion call is "Ruto must go". The same call is an echo of past times whenever he lost an election. After the 1997 polls, he sought to push Moi out of power. He ended up joining the latter's administration in an arrangement called "Cooperation." Former president Uhuru Kenyatta (left) with Raila Odinga when they had the 'handshake' at Harambee House, Nairobi, in 2018. [File, Standard] In 2008, he fought and prevailed, forcing President Kibaki into a Government of National Unity. In 2018, President Uhuru acceded to Odinga's demands in a nebulous arrangement called the Handshake." Currently, the former PM has planned a series of political rallies, demonstrations and boycotts to force Ruto out of power. The president vows he will not acquiesce to a power-sharing arrangement. He has instead taken the battle to Odinga's backyard having recently made a successful tour of the Luo Nyanza region. In comparing Odinga with Matiba, some salutary lessons obtain. Both were political detainees of the Moi administration. Both had indomitable spirits that remained unbroken after detention. Both ran for elections as presidential candidates and lost. Both had stints in the government as ministers. There are also negative similarities. Matiba lost his moral high ground when he chose to forego representation of his constituents in Parliament. As MP for Kiharu, he boycotted the august House only making technical appearances for purposes of holding on to his seat. He was subsequently never elected and died in political oblivion. Odinga is steadily losing his brand equity by issuing effete threats to his Azimio party adherents. As de facto head of the Opposition, he does not hold any position in Parliament or the government. His attempts to whip his party members cozying up to the Kenya Kwanza administration are being disregarded because his pronouncements are not ex-cathedra. After free, fair, credible and verifiable elections, the public is now weary of "Ruto must go" calls. This is especially so after the apex court reaffirmed Ruto's win. Former president Daniel arap Moi (right) with Raila Odinga and other KANU leaders in Kasarani in 2001. [File, Standard] Against a background of hacking claims by nefarious Israelis working to sabotage last year's elections, whatever credibility Odinga's whistleblower had is now gone with the wind. Further, President Ruto is no pushover. He will use every trick in the book to ensure that Raila's clout is eviscerated in the coming months. Perhaps it is now time for this famous son of Bondo to say goodbye! On a related note, former president Uhuru Kenyatta is caught between a rock and a hard place. The deadline set in law for him to relinquish his position in the Jubilee Party is fast approaching. He must do so in order to access his generous retirement package. But if he resigns from Jubilee, the greater Azimio coalition in which it holds a considerable stake may collapse. Should he retire, Kenyatta fears that his political power will evanesce. Perhaps that's what has led him to issue withering broadsides at the Kenya Kwanza administration. He would be well advised to sue for peace. Criticism of the government, when it is trying to fix the economic mess he precipitated, is not in good taste. -Mr Khafafa is a public policy analyst

Raila's 'Ruto must go' calls are echoes from a distant past

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