Raila Odinga landed at JKIA on Sunday evening at around 9.49PM. His return was quiet and secretive as no media stations or prominent politicians were informed.
He has been in Saudi German Hospital in Dubai for a period of three weeks undergoing a surgery. His two counterparts; Governor Hassan Joho and the Minority Whip Junet Mohamed flew to Dubai on Thursday to check on him using a private jet. This caused an uproar among Kenyans who accused them of being extravagant and of squandering public funds.
Raila has been into politics for over 40 years which saw him occupy the office of the Prime Minister during the ‘Nusu Mkate government’ of 2007 and a strong opposition leader from 2013. He recently agreed to work with President Uhuru Kenyatta in the Building Bridges Initiatives (BBI) which is aimed at fighting corruption, developing unity and security in the country. Those opposing the BBI initiatives have accused Raila Odinga of using this as an opportunity to divide the Jubilee Party and the Uhuruto coalition.
A video of Raila Odinga was posted online by his daughter Winnie Odinga last week where he was seen moving around and smiling, he claimed to be strong, healthy and ready to get back to the game. Several reports have leaked from close friends of the family claiming that Raila is not doing great health wise and the surgery was not as minor as the family is trying to make it sound.
Is Raila masking the truth about his health condition? Is he still going to manage to campaign for the presidential seat in 2022 and does him being inactive at the moment increase the chances for Deputy President William Ruto?
Since his fallout with the Deputy President William Ruto after the latter was implicated in the ICC case, they have been bitter enemies and political rivalries. Ruto has accused Raila severally for always using his family political background for political mileage and not being able to lead the country in terms of development. Their rivalry has brought about online wars between their supporters which has brought about political heat around the country.
Since the handshake, Raila has been closely working with the president in what many terms as a deal to sideline the Deputy President and kill his ambition of becoming the 5th president of Kenya come 2022. After the handshake, we have seen many high profile individuals being arrested and charged for corruption and abuse of office which has been received positively by a section of Kenyans while others claim that it is a move aimed at finishing the vice president politically which is being pushed by Raila Odinga.
Recently, Raila Odinga was asked if he will be in the presidential ballot come 2022 and he replied that he is not interested in any political seat at the moment but to work with the president for development and unity of the country. This has left many Kenyans guessing and not knowing his next political move in the near future.
A section of Raila’s supporters including governors, senators and MPs believe that he still has political mileage and he will be running for presidency and win in 2022. This was witnessed in the recent Parliament and Senate shake up where Suna East Member of Parliament Junet Mohamed said that they will follow ‘baba’ like cows without any question.
