Charge Raila at ICC to catapult him to presidency

After three unsuccessful runs for the Kenyan presidency, Mr Raila Odinga needs to rethink his quest for power.

He has previously contested the presidency on the back of impeccable reform credentials, beating back resistance to decentralised government and greater human rights; he has challenged incumbent governments on corruption and inequality; and he has indefatigably campaigned for a new constitutional order. None of these secured the presidency for him.

Neither did getting photographed next to Mr Barack Obama as a mere junior senator from Illinois, or as President of the US. Nor has sharing blood links with Mr Obama helped him to cross the political Rubicon into State House.

Compare his misfortunes with the irresistible rise of President Uhuru Kenyatta — a man who lost his first election as MP for Gatundu North, only to secure it as consolation for the walloping he received in the 2002 presidential race; the humiliation of a home defeat for the No (Orange) campaign in 2005 and being harassed out of the leadership of the party of independence, Kanu thereafter. For all practical purposes, Mr Kenyatta’s political future appeared to be destined for the path of great firewood — embers eventually turning into ash.

Before the ICC named Mr Kenyatta as one of six suspects allegedly bearing the greatest responsibility for the crimes against humanity committed in the aftermath of the 2007 General Election, he was no match for the indefatigable campaigner and master of riddles that Mr Odinga is.

Mr Kenyatta has gone from being a political lightweight to becoming a political giant not only in Kenya but on the continent. He not only picked a fellow suspect at the ICC as his running mate in the 2013 General Election, but won the presidency in the first round with murder, rape, torture and forcible transfer of population charges still hanging around his neck.

MOBILISED THE AU

Since that historic victory, Mr Kenyatta has mobilised the African Union to rally behind a single position on cooperation with the ICC long after Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir had been repeatedly humiliated into sneaking to and from events on the continent because of an arrest warrant. He has given the ICC nothing but sleepless nights and unmitigated grief, drawing breathless admiration from even his harshest critics.

His latest decision to hand over power to Deputy President William Ruto for 48 hours in order to enable him to attend the ICC status conference as a private citizen has reportedly sent his popularity through the roof.

As the pollsters sort out the small matter of sampling, the President has the approval of 71 per cent of the population. The reported surge in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s popularity leaves only two paths open for Mr Odinga — to publicly begin a campaign for the case against Mr Kenyatta to be dropped unconditionally or to join him and share in the empathy.

Mr Odinga and Mr Kenyatta are scions of independence struggle heroes — first Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and founding President Jomo Kenyatta, respectively.

Where Mr Kenyatta II has steered the economy as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, his political kin Raila has displayed statesmanship as coordinator and supervisor of government during his tenure as Prime Minister.

In order to put the two politicians on an even keel, Mr Odinga must emulate what Mr Ruto did a few years when he went to The Hague in search of ICC Chief Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo. He must present himself to The Hague and demand to be investigated for his role in the 2007 post-election violence, the clashes in 1997 and 1992, as well as any other crimes against humanity that might have occurred in the country.

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