ODM leader Raila Odinga after being installed as a Luo elder at Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Kisumu, on August 4, 2022. [File, Standard]
“A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests,” wrote Niccolò Machiavelli. Though controversial, Raila Odinga’s shifting alliances, which were often dismissed as betrayals, echo this principle. It means whoever wants to fit in Raila’s political shoes must learn his manoeuvres and do better than him.