Nasa Principal Raila Odinga addressing a political rally at Jacaranda grounds in Nairobi on September 17, 2017. [Photo: nation.co.ke]Opposition leader Raila Odinga has told off President Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto for saying he is old and should, therefore, retire.Raila said he will quit politics not because President Kenyatta or Ruto have told him to but after uniting Kenyans and leading them to the 'promised land'.However, if Raila was to heed to 'UhuRuto's call and retire from politics, who would be the major victims of such a move? Well, there would be many of them but we focus on just three.Political cronies. Raila's political cronies who ride on his name to electoral offices would be the first to feel the impact of Raila's retirement. It is general knowledge that many politicians especially those from Raila's Nyanza stronghold can literally do nothing politically on their own. Most Nyanza politicians depending on which side of the coin they are in, attribute their political successes or failures to Odinga.Mt Kenya politicians. Another group that would undoubtedly feel the cold of Raila's absence, would be these politicians who use Raila as an object of fear and a rallying call to bring area residents together. This can perhaps be well confirmed by the just concluded repeat poll when central voters did not turn out as expected to vote for President Uhuru Kenyatta.The argument among many was that Raila was no longer in the race and, therefore, the 'threat' was no longer there. This means that Mt Kenya politicians especially those seeking the top seat, may have to devise ways to rally voters behind them with Raila out of the picture.Media. The media will certainly feel a pinch of Raila's retirement. His bigger than life persona makes him a big newsmaker in Kenya and beyond. Whatever Raila says or does is always bound to make news and no media aligned or not aligned to Raila ideology can ignore him. Equally supporters and non-supporters are always keen to follow on Raila's activities.

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