Raila Odinga starts ultimate race of his career

Nasa leader Raila Odinga on Sunday embarks on his fourth and final political quest for the highest office in the land, on a path that promises both hope and peril in equal measure.

As the Opposition presidential flag-bearer makes his way to the KICC to present his nomination papers to the electoral commission, he will be carrying his own aspirations and those of millions of his supporters who believe he will bag the trophy this time round.

However, both he and his supporters have to contend with the incumbent, President Uhuru Kenyatta whose Jubilee Party has promised to unleash a campaign machinery that will stop the Nasa march and guarantee the President a second and final term in office.

ONE-TERM PRESIDENT

The President and Deputy President William Ruto are expected to present their nomination papers on Monday.

Mr Odinga has promised to be a one-term President if he emerges victor and has signed a memorandum of understanding with his colleagues in Nasa to that effect.

For him, therefore, it is now or never.

On the other hand, Mr Kenyatta is battling to avoid being a one-term President.

In a sense, therefore, both leaders are vying for their last time and this promises to be a do-or-die race.  

NAIROBI RALLY
Officially, campaigns for the presidency begin on Sunday, the very day that Mr Odinga will formally enter the presidential race with Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka as his running mate.

And after presenting his papers, he will embark on a series of campaign tours around Nairobi before holding a public rally at Jacaranda Grounds.

The Nasa team in Nairobi, led by Governor Evans Kidero, will co-ordinate the day’s event.

“We will convene at KICC/City Hall Way as we look forward to our Nasa team leaders receiving the green light to formally begin campaigns,” Dr Kidero said today.

VOTE TALLYING
The election will be held in 72 days and the Nasa team is putting in place what it said was “very solid mechanisms” to ensure victory.  

“If there is a time that Raila has prepared fully for the polls, then this is it.

"He is much more prepared than in 2007 and 2013, and we are rolling out an intense programme of activities right from tomorrow (Sunday) when Raila and Kalonzo present their nomination papers through to August 9, when statistics at our tallying centre shall reflect a winner of the presidential poll,” Mr Junet Mohamed, the ODM Director of Elections, said.

Nasa has also acquired video and still cameras, satellite and smart phones, and an assortment of other gadgets for capturing, transmitting and tallying presidential election results.

JOMO AND JARAMOGI
Viewed as a re-match of the 2013 electoral race, the ballot battle set for August 8 is presumably the last and toughest Raila versus Uhuru electoral contest.

And at a family and personal level, the race also promises to be the grand finale of half a century of political enmity between the Kenyattas and the Odingas.

Mr Odinga and Mr Kenyatta are scions of Jomo Kenyatta and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, who served as independent Kenya’s first President and first Vice-President respectively.

The senior Kenyatta and senior Odinga parted ways in 1967 due to irreconcilable differences.

Jomo Kenyatta put the elder Odinga under house arrest soon after.

REMATCH
Their sons seemed to have picked up the rivalry in 2002 when Mr Odinga frustrated President Daniel arap Moi’s efforts to push through Uhuru as his preferred successor.

Mr Odinga, then a member of Kanu, bolted out of the party and backed Mr Mwai Kibaki for the presidency.

Uhuru lost, but he returned in 2013 to stage a sweet revenge against Mr Odinga.

This is precisely what makes this year’s “re-match” all the more significant.

MUTHAMA, KALONZO FALLOUT
To demonstrate the level of his preparedness, for instance, Raila has gradually put together a strong team of top politicians, whom sources indicate he personally played a key role in getting them on board – especially Bomet County Governor Isaac Ruto and Amani National Congress (ANC) leader, Musalia Mudavadi, the late additions to the now defunct Coalition for Reforms and Democracy outfit. 

But even as Nasa exudes confidence that it will form the next government, its key players have opened up a host of cracks and war fronts that are likely to make Mr Odinga’s presidential dream, just that.

Vocal Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama has fallen out with Mr Musyoka over the disputed Wiper party nominations. 

INDIVIDUAL CAMPAIGN
Similarly, Nasa appears to be losing out on crucial backers in the name of influential campaigners such as Mombasa Senator Omar Hassan, Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale and Mbita MP Millie Odhiambo.

They are all confined to their respective counties and constituencies, where they are engrossed in campaigns for their own survival – thanks to Nasa’s failure to resolve internal rivalries.  

The Jubilee party has, for instance, presented governor nominees in 45 of the 47 counties, compared to Mr Odinga’s Orange party’s 27.

Jubilee has no nominees in Homa Bay and Kitui counties, meaning that its presence across the country gives it a big advantage in mobilising for the presidential vote.  

CENTRAL KENYA VOTES
Although Mr Mohamed claims the absence of ODM nominees in the 20 counties is covered by coalition partners, Wiper, ANC, Chama Cha Mashinani and Ford-Kenya, IEBC records indicate that Nasa will not be fielding candidates in many counties and constituencies, particularly in Central Kenya region.

Mr Odinga’s allies have never succeeded in dispatching agents to the region – the backyard of President Uhuru – a factor that some fear leaves room to electoral irregularities.

Today, Dr Kidero set the stage for Mr Odinga’s last stab at State House when he presented the itinerary for his formal nomination, a legal requirement that all candidates must fulfil after they have complied with all other requirements, including the submission of the mandatory 48,000 signatures, which Mr Odinga’s team submitted four days ago.

“I would like to make it clear to our competitors that this team you see here means business.

"We are proud of the fact that Nasa’s team in Nairobi represents [the] face of Kenya as we have representatives from all communities,” Dr Kidero said.

Additional reporting by Lillian Mutavi