Raila Odinga
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Raila Amollo Odinga (1945-) is a Kenyan politician, and was, until November 23, 2005 a Cabinet Minister in the Ministry of Roads, Public Works and Housing. He is the son of the first Vice President of Kenya Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. Mr Odinga is commonly called by his first name, 'Raila', due to an interesting coincidence: he was an MP together with his father in the Kenyan parliament for a while, and is currently an MP together with his brother, Oburu Odinga, in the same parliament.
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[edit] Early life
Raila Odinga, of the Luo tribe, was born in Maseno, Kisumu District, Nyanza Province of Kenya on 7 January 1945. Raila Odinga's early education was in Kenya, after which he got scholarship in then East Germany. He spent 1965 to 1970 at the Technical University (Otto Von Guericke), Magdeburg and qualified as an Mechanical engineer. On returning to Kenya, he worked as a lecturer at the University of Nairobi. He eventually quit the job to join parliament. In 1975, he was appointed Deputy Director of the Kenya Bureau of Standards, a post he held until his 1982 detention.
[edit] Detention
After a failed coup attempt by elements of the Kenya Air Force in 1982, Raila Odinga was one of the politicians arrested for their opposition to the regime of then president, Daniel Arap Moi. He was accused of being behind the failed coup and was charged with treason. He was placed under house arrest for seven months, and then was detained without trial for six years. Released on February 6 1988, he was arrested again in September, 1988 for his involvement with the Kenya Revolutionary Movement (KRM), an underground organization pressing for multi-party democracy in Kenya, which was then a one-party state. Raila was released on June 12 1989, only to be incarcerated again on July 5 1990, together with Kenneth Matiba, and former Nairobi Mayor Charles Rubia. Raila was released on June 21 1991, and in October, fled the country to Norway alleging government attempts to assassinate him.
[edit] Multi-Party Politics
At the time of Raila's departure for Norway, the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD), a movement formed to agitate for the return of multi-party democracy to Kenya, was newly formed. In February 1992, Raila returned to join FORD, then led by his father Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. He was elected Vice Chairman of the General Purposes Committee of the party. In the months running up to the 1992 General Elections, FORD split into Ford Kenya, led by Raila's father Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, and FORD-Asili led by Kenneth Matiba. Raila became Ford-Kenya's Deputy Director of Elections.
When Jaramogi Oginga Odinga died in January 1994, and Michael Wamalwa Kijana succeeded him as FORD-Kenya chairman, Raila challenged him for the party leadership. He lost, and left FORD-Kenya to join the little known National Development Party (NDP). Raila transformed it into a vibrant political party, and led a massive walkout of MPs from FORD-Kenya into his new party. In the 1997 Langata constituency by-elections, occasioned by Raila's change of parties, he won by a large margin. He went on to beat FORD-Kenya in the 1997 General Elections, coming third after Moi and Kibaki respectively. Raila later on changed sides and became a supporter of Moi's government, and even led a merger between his party, NDP, and Moi's KANU party. After this, he served in the Cabinet, as Energy Minister, in the last Moi government. During the subsequent Kanu elections held later that year,he was elected the party's secretary general. Raila hoped to be in contention for Kanu's party presidential ticket, as Party chairman Moi was obligated by the constitution to retire at the end of his then-term. But in 2002, Raila's chances of becoming Kanu's presidential candidate were dealt a blow when Moi openly supported Uhuru Kenyatta – a son of Kenya's first president, and publicly asked Raila and others to support Uhuru as well [1]. Raila teamed up with Kalonzo Musyoka, George Saitoti and Joseph Kamotho among others to form the Rainbow Movement in protest. They formed the Rainbow Movement, a cross-party coalition to front a common candidate for president in the 2002 elections.
The Rainbow Movement went on to join the little known Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which later teamed up with the National Alliance Party of Kenya (NAK), a coalition of several other parties, to form the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC). Raila signed a memorandum of understanding with Mwai Kibaki of NAK, which provided for a prime ministerial position for the LDP, as well as a 50-50 split of cabinet seats between the LDP and the NAK after the elections.
[edit] Dissent from within
President Kibaki did not appoint Raila Odinga Prime Minister on assuming office as agreed in the memorandum of understanding; neither did he give LDP half the cabinet positions. He instead sought to shore up support for his NAK faction by appointing MPs from the opposition parties (KANU and FORD people) to the cabinet [2]. The perceived betrayal led to an open rebellion and a split within the cabinet, which culminated in disagreements over a proposed new constitution for the country. The government-backed constitutional committee submitted a draft constitution that was perceived to consolidate powers of the presidency and weaken regional governments as had been provided for under an earlier draft before the 2002 Elections. Raila opposed this, and when the document was put to a referendum on November 21, 2005, the government lost by a 57% to 43% margin. Following this, President Kibaki sacked the entire cabinet on November 23, 2005.When it was formed 2 weeks later,Raila and the entire LDP group were sacked.
In January 2006, Raila Odinga was reported to have told police that he believed his life was in danger, having received assassination threats [3].
[edit] Support
Raila Odinga commands reverential support from the third largest ethnic base in Kenya, the Luo, as well as from all over the country. He is seen as a leader with skills in mobilising grass root support. He is an indefatigable campaigner and during the referendum campaign was able to energise the team opposing the draft constitution through clever campaign tactics such as using the media to gain attention with the public. He has come to be seen as championing the interests of the common Kenyan at a time when corruption and tribalism are said to be rife within Kenya's ruling elite. His followers are now urging him to run for president himself in the upcoming elections in 2007. Though seen as a courageous leader, his critics maintain that Raila lacks a comprehensive plan to revive Kenya’s ailing economy. Raila has often responded to these claims by stating that he wants to revive the road network, build universities and promote industry. At a recent meeting in Washington, DC, Raila told a Kenyan audience that his government would emphasize the provision of utilities and the revival of agriculture. He has declared an intention to run for the presidency in the elections expected in 2007. [4]
Raila Odinga: An Enigma in Kenyan Politics, a biography of Raila Odinga, was released on July 13, 2006. It was written by Nigerian scholar Dr Babafemi A. Badejo. [5] The book traces Raila's life from Maseno to Germany and later in the civil service,as well as his pivotal role in the politics of Kenya. There was controversy after parts of the book indicated that Raila was involved in the planning for the attempted coup in 1982: some pro-government MP's called for Raila to be arrested and charged [6]. However, the Attorney General declined to initiate legal proceedings, citing Kenya's statute of limitations and the fact that the book, being a biography rather than an autobiography, could not be cited as a confession [7]. Further to this, there have been recent calls from the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Martha Karua for Raila to answer allegations regarding impropriety in the purchase and subsequent sale of land on the Kisumu Molasses Plant. The land was allegedly transferred to a company associated with Raila, Spectre International, a company now run by his family but formed by his father in the 60s and 70s that, among other business interests, manufactures fuel gas cylinders, which subsequently disposed of its majority interest to an entity controlled by Antonia Texeira [8]
[edit] Personal life
Raila odinga is married to Ida Odinga (born Ida Anyango Oyoo). They have four children - two sons and two daughters. He lives in Nairobi but is a native of Bondo District.
[edit] External links
- Raila Odinga - official website
- Raila Odinga: An Enigma in Kenyan Politics : website of the book
