At 80, Raila Odinga’s 2025 options look bleak. As he explores dynamic scenarios affecting his-over five decades-political career, Raila’s next moves are likely to redefine his legacy -or mark the end of his political journey.
Raila’s potential strategies, obstacles ahead, and what it could mean for his supporters and opponents alike are likely to shift Kenya’s political landscape.
Both friends and foes agree that Odinga has made significant strides and sacrifices for the struggle for Kenya’s liberation.
But countless folks are arguing otherwise. They are prosecuting Raila for prennially and unilaterally cutting under-the-table-deals with preceding and current regimes for his own personal advancement in the pretext of making tactical compromises for the benefit of peoples’ struggles.
As a veteran opposition leader and five-time presidential candidate, Raila must carefully navigate his next political move.
Raila Odinga’s loss in the race for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship lugged attention back to his next political steps at home.
Since 1997, Raila Odinga has vied for the presidency – and lost – four more times (2007, 2013, 2017 and 2022). He has faced betrayals and managed to navigate political storms that would have terminated the political career of many Kenyan leaders.
However, for the veteran politician called Raila, every setback seems to have been setting up a new battle for his political career.
His latest downfall in the African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson elections on February 15 marked another significant moment in his political career.
His latest political association with President William Ruto has sparked debate among his supporters and critics. Some view this as a strategic move to influence governance, while others perceive it as a decamp from his political ideologies.
Odinga now faces a pivotal decision: to back one of his own within Azimio/ODM or contest again for 5th time or back Ruto’s government and his ultimate 2027 re-election.
After African Union loss, the son of Jaramogi is yet to show any energy to decide: not today or tomorrow or even next week.
The current political discourse is divided—some argue that Odinga should run for president in 2027, while others believe he should align with President Ruto to form a formidable alliance while others feel Raila should retire completely.
Since 1997, Raila’s modus operandi spanning for almost 30 years double face the ‘fighter’ in him. In cutting political deals, Raila Odinga has unfortunately proven that he loves himself more than he loves Kenya.
First with Moi in 1998. And then with Kibaki ten years later in 2008. Notwithstanding the handshake with Uhuru Kenyatta a decade later in 2018. To whatever arrangement he made with William Ruto in 2024, to now whatever deal he has made or is making with William Ruto, all Raila cares now is about his own political and economic advancement. Not about Kenya’s comprehensive political and economic liberation anymore.
For months now, the effort to save Kenya from a potentially calamitous plunge of democratic recession is skipping away from the the hands of Raila Odinga.
Democratic decline, homemade fiscal troubles as well as diplomatic tensions with neighbours like Sudan, calls for a honest voice, new blood, awakened energy to unshackle our country from recklessness.
Besides, true political legacies are not built solely on personal victories but on ensuring continuity. His legacy will be far more enduring if he is seen as an architect of a successful transition rather than as a leader unable to pass the baton.
Regardless of whether he decides to maintain his current political standing or realign his strategy, one thing remains clear—he will be a pivotal figure in the 2027 political succession, and his influence will continue to shape Kenya’s political landscape.
However, for the last one year, Kenyans have been treated to a Ruto-Raila movie. With Odinga as the repeat cast member, they already know the ending of the post-AU-movie.
Doubtlessly, any future deal with Ruto, Odinga and his men and women will be the sole beneficiaries, as the rest of the country is left nursing wounds of our ailing Kenya.
And now, as Kenyans and the world watch Raila Odinga once again risk his life’s work for yet another political deal, the question on everyone’s mind as the country suspires in disbelief is, will it ever be enough for Raila Odinga? Or is it time for him to go?
