Kanaan, the land flowing with milk and honey, Raila had promised Odinga. In Kenya, politicians like to embellish their campaign speeches with quotations from the Bible. The long and dark night was almost over, and morning would soon be here, he announced. For the eloquent opposition veteran, who once studied engineering in the GDR and played for FC Magdeburg, this new morning has not dawned after all. Four times he has tried in vain to gain the presidency. Now he was defeated at his fifth attempt. The Electoral Commission declared his opponent, Vice President William Ruto, the winner of the election with just over 50 percent of the vote.
“Baba”, as he is called, is passionately worshiped, especially in the slums. He is a father figure, a hero who once fought for multi-party democracy, human rights and fair elections. For his opposition to the dictatorship under President Daniel arap Moi, he was imprisoned twice, once for an alleged coup attempt against Moi. The rebellion against the powerful made him an idol for many. As was evident in the last appearance before the election, he is also a master at winning over the masses.
Exhaust all “legal options”.
But there is also a danger in this worship. When Odinga spoke of fraud after the lost elections in 2007, unrest akin to civil war broke out. More than 1200 people died. After mediation by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, a power-sharing agreement was finally reached and Odinga became Prime Minister.
In 2017, after his defeat, violence broke out again. The Supreme Court annulled the election, not because of electoral fraud, as Odinga found proven, but because of procedural errors. He boycotted the rerun because he doubted a fair election. Instead, he had himself sworn in as “President of the People” in a show event. He is a man of great performances. Stadiums are his favorite places. This was also shown in this election when he stayed away from a television debate with Ruto. He said he could not share the podium with a man lacking in morals, leaving the 90 minutes of debating time to his rival alone. He also stayed away from the announcement of the election results on Monday in protest.
For the 77-year-old eternal opposition candidate, another defeat must be heartbreaking. His father had already fought for the presidency. He was the first post-independence vice-president and, like his son, was a leader of the opposition for many years. But despite her advanced age, there are signs of a waning of the tenacity and belligerence that have characterized Odinga’s entire political career. For his supporters, despite the election result, there can only be one winner in this election. And on Tuesday, the defeated candidate also announced that he would contest the election. The announced result was “a farce,” said Odinga. He will exhaust all “legal options” against it.
