Raila Odinga: The confluence of the law and politics
by admin on | 2025-11-03 16:28:52
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I was in private practice in 2011 when an aide of Raila Odinga came to me and offered me the job as the Legal Advisor to the Prime Minister. By that time, I had twenty years of experience under my belt, had served as an editor-in-chief of the University of Nairobi law journal, a managing editor of the prestigious Nairobi Law Monthly, and was a renowned columnist and television political analyst. But that was just about the only positive elements of my qualifications. In all other ways, my appointment was a risky political venture for both Raila Odinga and myself. The most outstanding issue was my ethnicity. We hailed from two competing ethnic communities that had a history of bad political engagements. Indeed, at that time, the country was in the midst of a coalition government between Raila Odinga as Prime Minister and Mwai Kibaki as President; a coalition that had very strong ethnic undertones from these two communities. The coalition government was characterized by very acrimonious interactions and I was expected to advise the Prime Minister on the legal aspects of their relationship. The problem was the fact that I came from Mwai Kibaki’s ethnic community. Mwai Kibaki was not only Raila’s adversary in the coalition but also the Member of Parliament for Othaya where I trace my roots. And to crown it all was the other fact that at the time of my appointment, the country was headed for a general election in which the expected competitor to Raila Odinga was also from my ethnic community. On one hand, I was as qualified a lawyer as was needed and, if I may say, a competent legal adviser with a national reputation that befitted the office. But on the other hand, I was a risky and in the eyes of many an unnecessary addition to Raila’s political space in the most inopportune time. I sat uncomfortably at this confluence of the law and Raila’s politics and it did not take long for the first clash to arise. In July 2012, barely six months in office, my predecessor, the indefatigable Miguna Miguna, published a book entitled “Peeling back the mask” which was an insiders account of the people and politics around Raila Odinga. The book was not kind. Many allegations were made against many of Raila’s political allies and lieutenants. Published exactly one years to the general election, the book was treated as a political assault, with top political leaders in the anti Raila factions mostly allied to Mwai Kibaki attending the launch. Some very powerful persons who were Raila’s political allies and lieutenants and who were targets of Miguna Miguna’s poison pen decided that some counter action was necessary
